BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG – Ogdensburg City Council voted 4-3 against appointing City Manager Stephen Jellie as fire chief.

Jellie has been acting chief for more than a year as the city has been unable to fill the position. But a proposal Monday that would have made the appointment more permanent failed with Councilors Nichole Kennedy, Dan Skamperle, Michael Powers and John Rishe voting against it.

The decision came after a brief executive session Monday night.

Several residents spoke against the appointment, noting that on two occasions firefighters took votes of no confidence in his leadership.

Meanwhile, news reports from Alaskan news outlet Petersburg Pilot, say Jellie is in the running for a Fire/EMS Director position.

Jellie had agreed to stay on as City Manager through the end of the year saying he did not want to leave the city hanging with pending litigation and a tough budget season ahead.

“Stephen Jellie and Rhys Mateo were in town to meet with community members and conduct their final interviews in front of a panel and with Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht,” the article says.

Council did not discuss publicly the pending arbitration between the city and fire union despite expectations from Rishe and Jellie that a decision regarding arbitration would likely be made at the meeting.

Fire Union President Jason Bouchard contends that the arbitration is necessary regardless of how the city feels as there are questions about overtime payments that have not been made as a result of contract violations.