NEWS

FIRE COMMISSION - CITY COUNCIL FACE OFF

By: Barbara Hansen August 21, 2009

In front of a packed audience Tuesday night – this time packed with fire fighters from all over Pierce County, including union members from Tacoma – Fire District 18 Commissioners convened together with the Orting City Council to discuss the firing of Chief Randy Shelton and whether the City of Orting would continue its contract with FD 18.

And while the May 28 meeting was more subdued, the August 18 meeting carried an air heavy in triumph. This time the fire fighters would have their day.

The one action item that came out of the hour and half-long meeting, was that FD 18 Commissioner Shelley Jackson will meet with a senior member of the City of Orting for a series of formal meetings that could result in changes in the contract with Fire District 18.

And while the commissioner's presented a meticulously prepared power point presentation countering the city council's criticism of their actions, two unanswered questions from citizens foreshadowed the proceedings.

One citizen alleged that during an EMT call to his house last year, pain medication was stolen. Another citizen alleged the commission conducts illegal meetings inside the common area of the fire hall with fire fighters present before and after regular commission meetings.

Later in the meeting, when City Councilman Dick Ford followed up the citizen's allegation by asking whether the commission's decision to fire Shelton was unduly influenced by the fire fighter's union, the pro-union audience openly mocked and laughed at him.

Interim Fire Chief Dave Wakefield stated during the meeting that he would meet with the citizen alleging theft.

However, after the council had its chance to air its discontent, both boards agreed to move forward from this point on in a positive way.

If the city stays with FD 18, the city is expected to negotiate for more meaningful participation in decisionmaking. While some city officials decried the commission's firing of Shelton, most concede the contract gave the commission full authority to do just what they did without city support.

Since Shelton's suspension May 26, the city's non-voting representative, Councilman George Wilson, has complained the commission did not inform him of the series of special meetings it convened to take action against Shelton, or even acknowledge him when he was in attendance at its regular meetings.

Others on the council said the spirit of the agreement was ignored, and many claimed they had agreed to the contract in the first place based on faith in Shelton's leadership.

“That trust is gone,” Temple told the fire commissioners. However, Tuesday night it was clear the fire fighters were happy Shelton was gone. And while they may have been reluctant to say so bluntly in May, they were brazened to say it now.

Referring to a document outlining the results of the investigation the commission's attorney allowed to be photocopied for city council members, fire department personnel and the commission, OrtingNews, Commissioner Troy West said, “I think everyone in the room has had a chance to read the report. Based on those findings, we had no choice but to do what we did.” (The 34 page document is outlined below.)

In a 66-slide Power Point presentation, Commissioner Shawn Mahoney opened the meeting with what amounted to a long summary of a letter read by City Councilman George Wilson at the August 8 City Council meeting and submitted to OrtingNews.com last week, a longer summary of the city council discussion which followed it, and the commissioner's response.

Responding to Wilson's criticism that he had not been included in special meetings, Mahoney cited the RCW which calls for “delivering written notice personally, by mail, by fax or by electronic mail to each member of the governing body; and to each local newspaper of general circulation,” and then showed affidavits from The Tacoma News Tribune that legal notices had run in the newspaper the day prior to both meetings.

Mahoney stated Mayor Cheryl Temple announced the June 25 special meeting at the city council's June 24 meeting, but did not mention that information had been provided by the OrtingNews reporter and not a member of the fire commission.

Mahoney did not answer Wilson's charges that he, as the ex officio member of the board of commissioners, had not been notified of the meetings as specified in the RCW, or allowed to participate in the behind-the-scenes deliberations.

OrtingNews had reported that no announcement of the June 25 special meeting appeared in the Tacoma newspaper, based on intentional searches by two separate staff members, neither of whom found the announcement in either the on-line or printed version of the publication. OrtingNews did report notice of the meeting had been posted at the fire hall hours before the 4:30 p.m. meeting.

Citing the fact that Shelton had not been in attendance at the June 25 meeting, Wilson criticized the commission for not giving the ex-chief the mandated two-week notice of his suspension.

Mahoney responded by counting the days from June 25 to July 9 and concluding there were 14 days, two hours and 30 minutes between the two meeting dates. He did not discuss whether Shelton himself had received proper notice.

On a slide titled, “Choice to move forward,” Mahoney said it was the city who failed to communicate with the commission. Branding the ex officio as “the city's voice,” Mahoney said the representative did not attend meetings in July, that the mayor failed to return three phone calls to Jackson, and that after the full commission showed up at the July 29 city council meeting, they were tabled to the August 8 meeting, based on the city council's desire to have the meeting between the two bodies televised.

Mahoney defended hiring the department's current interim chief without city involvement, citing that the department had no administrative staff after Shelton was placed on leave. The commission did not acknowledge its contractual obligation to include the city in the hiring process, nor that it was commission's action that had left the department without administrative staff.

Mahoney cited 12 city council meetings in which Wilson did not make a report about the fire district. Wilson countered that he had always allowed the fire chief to make the reports. Wilson further complained that the interim chief did not attend city council meetings, as Shelton had, and that the contract called for the chief's attendance. Mahoney said the contract called for the city to make a written request each time it wanted the chief to attend city council meetings and that the city had not submitted such requests.

Later in the meeting, Interim Chief Dave Wakefield told the city council he would attend its meetings regularly without written requests to do so, as Shelton had when he served as chief.

In an apparent attempt to demonstrate the difficult history between FD 18 and Orting. Mahoney cited the RCW pertaining to executive sessions, quotes from OrtingNews articles and attributed the author (this reporter) followed by clippings from old newspapers that did not have dates or source citations, and RCWs pertaining to mergers and annexations.

After the slide show, Jackson attempted to move into a reading of the questions submitted by council members, but Mayor Temple interjected. “Can you tell us what you are thinking.”

Jackson seemed confused, looking around at her fellow commissioners and then the audience. She finally asked what Temple meant. Temple clarified that she wanted to hear the commissioner's thoughts on the state of affairs between the city and fire district.

“That seems like a personal issue,” Jackson said. “We run a business here.”

Near the end of the meeting, Orting City Administrator Mark Bethune presented a portrait of Shelton from an administrator's perspective. He reflected that Shelton had taken over a department rife in financial trouble – its last two department audits were filled with the term bureaucrats most dread: “significant findings.” (In 2005, State Auditor Mark Rapozo told the Gazette: “There's so much wrong here we can't even tell where some of this money has gone.”)

Under Shelton, the department's last audit had “No significant findings,” bureaucratese for “A-Plus.” In addition, under Shelton District 18 built the department's staff and modernized its equipment.
“We have not acknowledged the good that Randy did here,” Bethune said.

But the fire fighters were going to allow no kind sentiment for Shelton. One fire fighter, who failed to identify himself, stood and shouted, “Wasn't it Randy Shelton who always said, 'This is a team effort?' We are all responsible for building this department.'”

Commissioner Shelley Jackson continued the fire fighters' sentiment, saying, “We're not here for that tonight.”

But it was apparent that's what the city had come for. Bethune pressed on and City Councilman Scott Drennen added, “We would not have taken a step forward if it were not for Randy Shelton.”

City Councilman Joe Pestinger said he supported the contract in the first place based on his faith in Randy Shelton.

Countering Jackson's statement that they were just “running a business,” Bethune said while fire service is a business, it is a business that involves people, and for that reason it is personal.

Finally, in an attempt at conciliation, current union president Jonathan Burgos said that Shelton had done a lot of good for the department and that he had been a supporter of Shelton. But others in the department did not share his good relationship with Shelton.

“There was nobody more frustrated that I was last November,” said Dave Kessig, active on the FD 18 Citizens Advisory Committee for five years. “I was thinking, 'Wow, finally things are going to run smoothly.' And then I came around and nobody was talking to anyone.”

Kessig said it was because of Shelton that he got involved on the advisory committee. He observed that under Shelton things changed, that things had improved.

“However, everything wasn't as rosy as they seemed,” Kessig said. “Sometimes people have to make tough decisions behind the scenes.”

Those tough decisions centered around Shelton's handling of fire department personnel. According to the findings of a private investigator:

1.Shelton mishandled a grievance and did not adequately inform the commission of an employee suspension or the union grievance process in connection with it. According to the report, Shelton had sought medical records related to a Labor and Industries claim in violation of health privacy law, and disciplined the employee too harshly, resulting in the union filing a grievance. The investigator's report also stated that the employee had initially failed to report the accident that caused his injury, had submitted a report to L&I that was different that the initial one he submitted to the department, and then took nearly a month's worth of medical leave nearly two months after the accident. When the commission reversed the suspension, Shelton had “held a grudge” against the employee, eventually forcing him to retire earlier than he had planned to. Shelton also openly criticized the commission for taking away his authority in supervising employees.

2.Shelton promised a promotion to an employee and then failed to promote him. He also promoted two employees to lieutenant even though they had failed to pass the lieutenant's test.

3.Shelton hired a Medical Services Officer who was not part of the union and failed to hire the person recommended by a commissioner who was part of the bargaining unit. He then purchased gear for the new MSO without board approval of the expenditure.

4.Shelton imposed operation procedures that had not been approved by the commission, including prohibiting a union fire fighter who was not an EMT training from riding in the back of the aid car with patients. In addition, Shelton seemed to avoid providing the commission with complete copies of the Manual of Operations and throughout the course of the investigation began providing parts of them to the commission. Shelton's response in the report was that he had inherited a department with only bits and pieces of an MOO and that daily operations of the department kept moving the MOO tasks to the back burner. The report said Shelton claimed he imposed the commonly known professional practices used throughout Pierce County in the absence of department MOOs.

5.The report said that the commission had given Shelton permission to claim one week of vacation and Shelton claimed more than 46 hours of vacation pay. (A week for a union fire fighter is defined as more than 40 hours.) However, the report stated Shelton failed to justify why he claimed 46 rather than 40 hours of pay.

6.The report cited statements by employees that Shelton exhibited hostility toward the union, monitored those involved in the union and were stricter with them than other employees, and subjected a number of staff members to a “hostile work environment.”

7.The report cited second-party threats Shelton made toward employees, including Shelton's references to material the employees had posted on public Internet sites.

8.The report stated Shelton did not follow the steps in discipline procedures against employees, made notes in their personnel files that he did not communicate to them, including 'way to go' and 'needs improvement' lists, and disciplined one employee for taking an extended bereavement leave giving permission.

9.The report stated Shelton demeaned employees in front of others, in one case questioning an employee about suspected illegal activity, including allegedly swapping license plate tabs and and about a roach clip (commonly used for smoking marijuana) Shelton said he found in a vehicle he purchased from the individual.

Citizens wishing to read the report for themselves may do so by contacting the FD18 office at 360-893-2221. If the department charges citizens for the copy, the usual fee is 15 cents a page. (This document is 34 pages, so the fee will be approximately $4.70. Citizens may also read the document at the fire department, if they cannot afford the copying fee. The commission denied the request of OrtingNews to e-mail an electronic version of the document on the Web site.