Fire chief gets extension
past retirement
The Honolulu Fire Commission is giving Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi a chance to stay on the job after he retires in January.
Leonardi, 58, said a majority of the commissioners voted to allow him to continue on an appointment basis for 89 days after he retires so that his benefits will not be affected. Come Jan. 4, Leonardi will have been with the Honolulu Fire Department for 33 years, past the maximum 32 years HFD allows.
"This is my peak retirement year ... if I stay I'd lose lifetime benefits," Leonardi said. "It's been a tough decision for me. I love my job."
Instead, Leonardi said commission members offered him another option, to retire but then still serve as chief under an appointment basis in 89-day increments, just under the 90-day limit that would terminate any pension benefits. That means Leonardi would still be collecting his $110,200 a year salary, plus collecting benefits.
The commission could give him additional 89-day increments.
"I'm excited about it but I've got mixed feelings, too," he said. "It's strictly up to the commission."
Four out of five commission members approved the decision during their meeting last month. Member Cynthia Bond said although the commissions' evaluations of Leonardi have always been "outstanding," she is not sure she would have approved the appointment idea had she been there.
"I missed the meeting because I was recovering from surgery, but I would have preferred a different solution to the problem," she said.
Leonardi has been fire chief for the past five years and said that other commissioners want him to stay aboard and finish some ongoing projects, particularly the construction of the new HFD Kakaako headquarters, which began in September. Right now HFD's administrative offices are rented in a Hopaka Street building near Honolulu Airport.
"I remember when we were on the fourth floor of the Sears building in the old Honolulu Police Department," Leonardi said. "That's a long time ago ... we've been working for this for a long time."
