The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-12-15

from the flrc Department hiH placc will be taken by Capt. Francis Scuily. who recently re- turned Co duty from service Ntin the T.. <. Coast Guard. such an appointment would bc more or less in line with Mayor John \. Monagan's plans of streamhning many Of the municipal depart ments. some of which has been accomplished elswhere througr- the city government and it still taking place in many more such a move would undoubtedly bring about the resignation of Deputy Chief Martin J. Campion and would remove the entire top per sonnel of the department. There is talk that if 1t is tO be Chief ScuIly that he would be given the support of deputies like Capt. 'Dick" Sheehan and Capt. James Mccoy, to mention but two of those who are regarded as likely 10 figure in the forthcoming ad- vancements.
 1L hOu4O HtEllA LAlhA eAb AAiAo tAAAAN both Fire Board members and city officials would take steps long ad- yocated for a thorough moderni- zation of the Fire Department which might result in some radical repar- lures from current customs anc procedures. However, the very first steps will probably be towards changing departmental routine i'm proving the standardization, repair of or relocation of existing fire houses. It is the contemplation oi such moves as these that lends i'm petus to the thought that a young mau like Capt. Scully would bt given the nod for the Chiefs posi- tion. And the same may be true with regard to other key posts throughout the department.
 Mayor John s. MOnagan was back in Waterbury this weekend after . busy three or four days in New York absorbing all the ideas and thoughts advanced by speakers at the annual confer ence of mayors. The postwar city was much to the forefront dur ing all these discussions and no doubt that Mayor Monagan will have a lot to report on and to pass along to his key-men in the various departments through out the city government. He will also probably tackle the perpleX- ing problems of board appoint ments with renewed vigOr during the next few days. There is much to be done here, unless the mayor expects to stamp with approval all of the existing boards,
 However. he must send to the Board of Aldermen shortly a g. man Retirement Board and the Aldermen have to ratify his ap- pointment by two-thirds vote be- fore the board can function. AS the new pension law takes effect or January l there will be lot oi preliminary work for the board tt dispose of in order to shift from the old to the new law without Interference with pension payments or retirements of those who auto matically are out after January At least two Republican members of the Aldermanic body must sup port the eight Democratic mem berS in order to secure the tWo- thirds vote, out it's more thar likely that the entire board vii go along with the appointments, as this will be non-political body and one which will be constantly dealing with personnel problems of considerable importance. The sole question arising now is whet- her or not approval of the Retire ment Board can or will be made by the present board of Aldermen or the goard that goes into office on January l.
 The presence of three Repub- Iican mayors of Connecticut at an important COP "closed ses- sion" this past week shows what stock this party places in local leadership. Connecticut Demo- crats might follow this example. They certainly haven't of recent years, for it must have been ap- parent that the weight that Democratic mayors carried in their own bailiwicks didn't mean to much to the state ietaders when it came time to make inn pOrtant decisions, choices, etc. Right now it would seem as if Democratic leaders in Connecti- cut might be inclined to pay some heed to the Democratic Nauga- tuck Valley. It's the one spot where there is any political con- sistency to the local government. Connecticut finance officers ex pect to delve into the post-wai problems of municipalities nex Wednesday at Hartford when the! meet for their last quarterly ses' sion of 1945. Presiding at the ses' sion will be Director of Finance Robert L. Duffy of Hartford, wht recently completed a tour of thu Middle West and Southwest United States cities, in company with ar official of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce. Postwar problem! and how they are being tackled were the subject matter of theil Investigations and comments where. ever they went and it is believed that Mir. Duffy will have lot tC tell the Connecticut finance of ficers when they come together next week.
 Recent gas explosions and leaks sn Waterbury recall that during the 1945 legislative session Sena- 9or Edward P. Egan and Rep.