A change to the head of Hammond’s Board of Public Works and Safety was made Wednesday just after it came out that a recent change by the board violated the city’s contract with its fire union.
Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. announced in a press release that he had decided to name Controller Heather Garay to the board as a replacement for Ed Krusa, executive director of the city’s water department. Krusa sat on the board since May 2014, according to the release.
McDermott, who said in the release that he thinks Garay will serve as a “tremendous asset” to the board, declined to comment about the reason for the change. However, Ed Lomeli, president of the Hammond Professional Firefighters Association Local 556, said the mayor recently called him about an issue that had come up.
Lomeli said the mayor told him that the board had recently voted to allow Hammond firefighters to qualify as a battalion chief after seven years of service. That would go against the city’s contract with the union, which calls for at least 11 years.
Lomeli said that McDermott told him he was out of town when the board took the action and called him as soon as he found out.
“I take the mayor at his word,” Lomeli said, adding that Fire Chief Jeffrey Smith also called him.
Lomeli said the officials told him they would undo the change immediately, although it was not clear Thursday if the board had taken any action on the issue yet.
Krusa could not be reached for comment.
Lomeli said he was not sure why the board tried to make the change or if it was done for anyone specifically. However, he praised the mayor and fire chief for their open communication with the union.
“I’m very grateful that we have a working relationship between labor and management,” Lomeli said.
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