Norwich — A proposed new director of fire services would oversee the city's paid and volunteer departments with two dozen specific duties, along with the broader responsibility of "administrative oversight, visioning and leadership," a draft ordinance governing the position states.

The proposed position was recommended in a February report by an outside consultant group hired to study all aspects of the city's paid and volunteer fire services. The group recommended an oversight position to better integrate the independent department services, including responses to emergency calls, equipment purchasing and sharing and training.

The city department-head level position already has been met with some opposition by fire department leaders and some members of the City Council. City Manager John Salomone has included $140,000 in his proposed 2021-22 budget for the position to start in October.

The City Council will introduce the draft ordinance that would govern the position at its 7:30 p.m. Monday and is expected to refer it to the council’s Public Safety Committee for review and recommendation. The three aldermen who serve on the Public Safety Committee, Democrats Mark Bettencourt and Joseph DeLucia and Republican William Nash, have co-sponsored the ordinance.

Bettencourt, the council president pro tempore, said Friday that the ordinance is needed to "get started" on the search for a fire services director. He said Salomone has been working on the proposed ordinance.

"Once we get the budget passed and this passed, it will take some time to hire somebody, find the right person," Bettencourt said. "We're just looking for a more coordinated effort overall fo the fire services."

DeLucia, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, credited Salomone and Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll for what he called well-researched ordinance language.

The ordinance lists 24 specific assignments for the fire services director, many of them with the preface, "in conjunction with the fire chiefs." The director also would serve as the public information officer at emergency scenes.

"Evaluate the organizational structure of all fire departments and fire companies in the City of Norwich from a public safety perspective," one item states, "to address potential duplication of services, and make recommendations to promote greater efficiency of service delivery."

Another item calls for the fire services director to "evaluate all Fire Department equipment and apparatus to address duplication and effective use of resources." The person also would work on policies for "effective dispatching of emergency personnel," another contentious item among the city’s paid and volunteer departments.

During earlier discussions of the consultant group’s recommendations at Public Safety and City Council meetings, fire chiefs objected to the creation of a high-level oversight position, saying they could do the work collectively without the added costs. Aldermen, however, countered that they have asked for coordinated efforts, joint meetings and a schedule of equipment and apparatus that could be decommissioned but those things never happened.

The proposed ordinance ends with a statement that addresses one concern that the director's position could threaten the future of the city's five volunteer departments.

"Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to affect the organization, status or property of any volunteer fire company now established or which may hereafter be established in the City," the draft ordinance concludes.

c.bessette@theday.com