By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — The president of the firefighters' union said he disputes comments made by the mayor and fire chief in The Times in regard to there being no outstanding grievances within the Pawtucket Fire Department.

In an article concerning the “no confidence” vote that was taken against Fire Chief Timothy McLaughlin on Monday night by the union, McLaughlin stated that there are no outstanding grievances in the department.
The no confidence vote was preceded by a move by the city administration to terminate the employment of Assistant Fire Chief Richard Renzi, a 36-year veteran, for an alleged misuse of city time.
Mayor James E. Doyle, expressing his support for McLaughlin, also said that he had not seen anything from the union regarding McLaughlin's ability to run the department.
However, in a statement to The Times, Fire Capt. Robert Neill Jr., president of Local 4421, said, “If the Mayor and the Chief want to deny the fact that I have personally been in their office or the union has never filed or aired complaints to various members of the administration on several different occasions regarding treatment of employees, especially Assistant Chief Renzi, that is their opinion, but it is untrue.”
Neill said there are four pending grievances which have been filed with the American Arbitration Association in Boston. He added that he expects one to two more grievances to be filed in the wake of the no confidence action and Renzi's termination.
According to Neill, two grievances are directly related to Renzi. One alleges that city officials circumvented the established chain of command by refusing to place Renzi in charge during the fire chief's vacation, and another which relates to Renzi being able to receive “out of rank” pay for service when he performed duties as acting chief of the department.
Fire Chief Timothy McLaughlin was out of town on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. Harvey Goulet, director of administration, said he would look into the matter further. 
In response to a comment made by the mayor that the union's no confidence action was tantamount to “condoning” Renzi's alleged misuse of work time that was key to his termination,
Neill stated, “The Union has never condoned the misuse of city time by members of the Fire Department or any other City employee or official that serves the City of Pawtucket.”
Of the “no confidence” vote, Neill stated, “The 142 members of IAFF, Local 4421 stand by their decision and are hopeful that some of our concerns will be addressed.
An attempt to reach the mayor on Tuesday was also unsuccessful.