Tisbury fires Leland as fire chief

Tisbury will part ways with Fire Chief Greg Leland starting next week, a decision he says he will appeal.

After a lengthy board meeting Thursday evening at Vineyard Haven City Hall, City Manager Jay Grande said Leland will no longer be employed starting Monday, Oct. 28.

Leland and Grande declined to comment further when approached by a reporter after Thursday’s board meeting.

But in a subsequent statement emailed to Leland Friday morning, the chief said he planned to take legal action against the city.

“The board has decided to terminate my services as fire chief. This was waived for good cause and in violation of my employment contract. I intend to take legal action enforce my contract,” Leland’s statement reads.

Leland has been on paid administrative leave since July while the city investigated the management and operations of the fire department under the chief following a series of complaints. The details of those complaints have yet to be released, but documents obtained by the Times indicate that the city was investigating allegations of mismanagement and harassment.

From July to early October, Copies of invoices received A records request shows the city paid Boston-based KP (Kopelman and Paige) Law at least $24,247.68 to investigate the allegations; Leland received approximately $45,000 during his furlough at his regular salary.

Since July, the city committee has held numerous board meetings regarding the topic of Leland’s employment.

Leland was promoted to chief in 2020 after serving as deputy chief two years prior.

In his statement Friday morning, he said the city was treating him unfairly despite his services helping residents and businesses.

“I have dedicated my years as fire chief to the city, going above and beyond the call of duty,” the statement said. “I demonstrated this commitment in many ways by working to save a business from closure over Memorial Day weekend by stopping the spread of the fire and preventing further damage to the structure without to close business. At Haven Side Apartments, I evacuated all residents from a fire that destroyed the building without assistance and extinguished a kitchen fire with multiple fire extinguishers before other members responded. I have been working to professionalize the department and hold employees accountable, which is likely the reason for my resignation. I am confident that I will prevail in the end, but am disappointed by the lack of fairness shown to me in this process.”