November 15, 2008 10:37 pm
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By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
RACINE, Mo. — The chief of the Seneca Area Fire Protection District was fired Saturday, prompting the deputy chief and at least two lieutenants to resign in protest.
During a contentious meeting Saturday, some firefighters alleged that board members ousted the chief because he sought to hold them accountable to department policies and the state’s open meeting law.
Roy Lankford, president of the district’s three-man board, said they voted to terminate Chief Michael Steele in closed session Saturday following citizen complaints about Steele. Lankford alleged Steele violated district policies, although he declined to give specifics on those violations or on the complaints, citing personnel laws.
The board’s unanimous decision led to public resignations by Lts. James Wilson and Justin Weston, who challenged the board’s allegations against Steele. Before their resignation, the department had four lieutenants.
“I firmly believe that letting Mike go is a bad decision,” Weston told the board.
Weston alleged the board violated Missouri open meetings laws by failing to properly post public notices and improper use of exemptions allowing closed sessions.
Reprisal alleged?
Deputy Chief Kyle Bridges also resigned after the meeting.
Bridges, who also acts as the department’s personnel manager, had openly criticized the board’s decision and alleged it was a reprisal for Steele trying to get the board to comply with Missouri’s open meetings laws.
Bridges echoed concerns raised by Weston. He also claimed the board failed to put together a formal budget and to produce monthly financial statements showing revenues and expenditures prior to Steele’s being named chief.
“Mike is the first fire chief that has held you guys accountable,” Bridges told the board.
Steele also said he was not aware of any complaints against him.
“I regret that this happened this way, and I’m saddened for the public, because where does this leave the public at this time?” Steele said after the meeting.
Lankford declined to comment after the meeting.
Board member Dave Zumwalt also declined to go into specifics after the meeting, except to say that the firefighters only had Steele’s side of the story.
The third member of the board, Max Keller, declined comment Saturday.
Firefighters had argued that the state’s Sunshine Law explicitly requires the board to post a notice of the meeting and an agenda of topics to be discussed. The board, they allege, frequently failed to comply with those requirements.
Missouri’s Open Meeting Open Records law states that a public body must post a notice 24 hours before a public meeting at its principal office and that the notice must include the time, date and place of the meeting, a tentative agenda and whether the meeting is open or closed.
Zumwalt acknowledged that he was not sure about the specific requirements for posting meeting notices, but he maintained that proper notices were posted on the door of the fire station. Additionally, the board would sometimes use a free-standing sign at the curb by the department’s Racine station to make people aware of the meetings and publicized meetings in the newspaper.
Asked to respond to the firefighters’ allegations about violating open meetings laws, Zumwalt said he did not know on what they were basing those claims.
Policy breach?
Another issue of contention was access to a “lock-down” room, where department gear and other materials are stored inside the Racine station.
The lock-down room was created, Steele said, because there were problems with missing gear in the past. A room enabled the department to maintain an inventory of what equipment it had and who had it at a given time.
Under department guidelines, only the chief, the deputy chief and the lieutenants had keys to the room. They also were responsible for maintaining a log of what was taken out when and by whom.
Steele said he based this arrangement on what other departments do, and that anyone could call the officers if they needed access to the room.
But Weston and others alleged Saturday that Zumwalt violated that policy by breaking into the lock-down room on one occasion. They also alleged that Zumwalt, who is technically both a firefighter and a board member, lent department gear to his son while the latter was training in firefighter school.
Zumwalt acknowledged that he once used a screwdriver to pry open the door to the lock-down room and gain access, although he said he had tried to find a key first and that board members had asked for their own set of keys several months ago but were never supplied with any.
Zumwalt said he was trying to retrieve an antique fire extinguisher that had been converted into a lamp. The lamp was given to the department some years ago, but Zumwalt said he wanted to return it to the owner and that he needed access to the room immediately because someone was there to collect the lamp.
Zumwalt also acknowledged lending his son the gear, but he said he had done so with Lankford’s permission, that his son was training to become a firefighter with the department and that the gear was always returned.
Other firefighters countered that Zumwalt still broke into a room at a public fire station and still did not follow the established guidelines. As for lending the gear, they maintained that it was still public property and not for personal use.
“It’s like you guys are doing whatever you want,” said firefighter Josh Townsend, who attended the meeting. “That’s the way I’m seeing it.”
April election
Shortly after announcing his resignation, Wilson said he planned to run for one of the board of director’s seats during the April election.
Weston said the board was eroding department morale.
“We are running ourselves ragged,” Weston said. “None of these guys has heard a thank you from any of you. They’re crushed, and I’m tired of it.”
Lankford said the board also will have to determine who will replace Steele.
Zumwalt said late Saturday that he had received phone calls from other firefighters saying they would remain with the department despite what had happened.
District defined
The Seneca Area Fire Protection District’s boundaries are Route BB/Iris Road on the north, the McDonald County line on the south, the Oklahoma state line on the west, and Goldfinch Road on the east. The city of Seneca is not included in the district. The department consists entirely of volunteers.
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