Printed below is the letter from the Montgomery County Rural Fire Board of Directors to the Montgomery County Commission regarding the commission’s recent dismissal of Wilbur Schwatken as rural fire coordinator.
Sirs:
In reference to the recent decision by the county commissioners to decline to retain Wilbur Schwatken in the capacity of Montgomery County Fire Coordinator, we, Montgomery County Rural Fire Board trustees, respectfully submit this letter as formal grievance.
Monday April 20, 2009 the commissioners met in order to vote on the retention of contracted county employees. The commissioners voted 2/3 against the renewal of Mr. Schwatken’s renewed contract. The fire board submits the following protest to this decision on the basis that Mr. Schwatken has performed proficiently in his capacity as coordinator.
He has effected change that has positively improved the quality of the rural fire district through the use of grants and county funded purchases to replace obsolete or worn equipment. His commitment to the fire district is evidenced by the procurement of funding to replace personal firefighter equipment necessary to insure fire fighter’s safety. In the past four years as a fire coordinator the county fire budget has reflected responsible spending practices by remaining within budget and all surplus funds have been used to support fire apparatus upgrades.
The Fire Board adopted an evaluation procedure and Mr. Schwatken has been evaluated by the board each year. The evaluation form was researched and formatted to match standardized evaluation tools and the board scored each performance area using a rubric. The fire board has unanimously voted to recommend Mr. Schwatken for reinstatement based upon the positive scores and remarks reflected in his yearly evaluation. The fire board has affirmatively recommended Mr. Schwatken for reinstatement prior to the county commissioner’s recent vote. The fire board trustees and Mr. Schwatken have no knowledge of any letter of reprimand, formal or otherwise, placed in his employment file that would support the action to deny his renewal.
The decision to no longer retain Mr. Schwatken in this position was done so without consideration of the Fire Board or their recommendations. We protest this decision and request the commissioners to answer to this with a written statement explaining this dismissal. This request is supported by the Montgomery County Rural Fire By-Laws as being part of the grievance procedure and within our rights to request. We, Montgomery County Rural Fire Board of Trustees strongly urge that the motion to deny Mr. Schwatken’s renewal as Fire Coordinator be rescinded.
Fire Board of Trustees:
Randy Haymaker, president/Dearing
Dan Reardon, vice president/Liberty
Jeff Russell, secretary/ Havana
Denise Finney, Tyro representative
Richard Catron, Sycamore representative
Bobby Slane, Cherryvale representative
Andrew Schaper, Independence representative
