Newburyport DPS director retires, fire chief on paid leave

Aug. 18—NEWBURYPORT — Two of the city's most high-profile employees are no longer coming to work each day, with one announcing his retirement Tuesday and the other placed on paid medical leave last month.

After informing Mayor Sean Reardon last month he would retire in February, former Department of Public Services Director Anthony Furnari told him Tuesday he was stepping down immediately. Furnari was placed on paid leave five days before the announcement, according to city documents.

On July 11, Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire was placed on paid leave.

When asked for more information, Reardon said he was not at liberty to discuss the matters.

"As you know I cannot comment on personnel issues," Reardon said in an email.

For the time being, two of the largest and most costly departments in the city are being run by Deputy Fire Chief Stephen Bradbury and Deputy DPS Director Jamie Tuccolo.

In June, the City Council unanimously approved spending $78.6 million for fiscal 2023. Of that, $4,4712,841 was approved for the Fire Department and $3,494,099 for DPS, according to the city's website.

When reached by phone, LeClaire said he is on paid medical leave and doing well.

Attempts to reach Furnari were unsuccessful.

Furnari announced late last month that he submitted retirement papers and was planning to leave in February.

The Salem native joined the DPW in 2002 while Mayor Alan Lavender was in office, and left in 2007 to take a similar position in Danvers.

He returned to Newburyport two years later. In 2016, the Town of Lynnfield attempted to recruit him, only for the city to adjust Furnari's salary enough to entice him to stay. Upon retirement, he will have worked 18 of his 30 years in municipal service for Newburyport.

LeClaire joined the Newburyport Fire Department in 2014 after leading the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Fire Department. He succeeded the late Stephen Cutter, who ran the Newburyport department from 2001 until his retirement in 2013.

With the recent dismissal of former Parks Director Lise Reid, three of the previous mayor's department heads are no longer actively working for the city.

Ward 5 Councilor Jim McCauley said he is not concerned about finding new leaders.

"Deputy Chief Bradbury and Deputy Director Tuccolo are effective leaders today and will bring stability to their departments as interim leaders all while the administration gets to look longer term for the right candidates," McCauley said in a text.

Ward 2 Councilor Jennie Donahue, however, expressed concern.

"This is a difficult market to find good employees with a variety of skill sets and competitive pay is a challenge," she wrote in a statement. "But in this special city, I firmly believe we need special people to keep it that way."

Councilor at large Bruce Vogel said it is unfortunate to lose department heads such as LeClaire and Furnari only days apart from each other.

"I wish them all the best, they will be missed," Vogel said in a phone interview.

Dave Rogers is the editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.