Great Progress Being Made Despite Allegations, Confusion and Misinformation

This article is going to be lengthy but I believe important and necessary. There has been an exceptional amount of confusion and misinformation concerning happenings within the Seeley Lake Fire Department over the previous months as well as accusations of lack of transparency along with allegations of wrongdoing by both the District Board of Trustees and me, the current Chief. It is difficult to counter allegations when one side is fettered by legal requirements of privacy. The conversation becomes very one sided and unfortunately, as you may have heard the quote, “A lie told often enough eventually becomes the truth.” While I believe we all look forward to putting the controversy of yesterday behind us, with important events like the election of District Board Trustees right around the corner, I feel it is imperative that the community be as well informed as possible.

The allegations of impropriety regarding the dismissal of some volunteers from the Department started right away. It has been stated that the dismissals were the result of “conflict of personalities” or “flared tempers.” There have also been allegations of “bullying, harassment and bias against women” made against me personally. As has been said many times, the details of dismissals are private and confidential and cannot and will not be shared by the district. It has nothing to do with “lack of transparency” and, just as Gary Lewis stated at the recent community forum, the answer to those questions or anything resembling those questions will always be, “no comment.” That means the dismissed individuals are able to share their version of events with little opportunity for rebuttal.

However, there is some very important information that I am now able to share that will shed some light on my actions and that of the Board and hopefully clear up some questions or confusion. Because of the seriousness of the nature of the allegation brought by some, the district initiated a full professional Human Resources investigation into my actions as the chief. It is important to pause here and understand that the day-to-day operations and personnel issues within the Department are not the responsibility of the Board of Trustees to deal with. Those responsibilities fall squarely on the Chief. Yes, the Chief ultimately answers to the Board for his decisions, however, if personnel within the Department require corrective actions or, as a last resort, dismissal, those decisions are made by the Chief, not the Board. The Board does not nor will it play a direct part in those decisions. Hence, when the allegations were made, the Board took them very seriously as did I. I have and always will strive to perform to the highest standards of ethical conduct and professionalism, so I welcomed and in fact encouraged the investigation into my actions as well as those of the Board.

Because the District does not fall directly under county HR management, an independent, professional, HR agency was contracted for an expert investigation. The investigation took several weeks. Many people were interviewed, both within and without the Department and she was provided all documentation surrounding the issues and the allegations. While the investigation focused primarily on a few specific incidents, all the information of events and the people involved in the recent dismissals were also included, considered and discussed.

Paraphrased to leave out the details and names that cannot be shared publicly, as we must always do, the findings of the investigation were as follows. “The investigation did not support the allegations of discrimination or intimidation.” “There was no evidence to support discrimination due to gender.” And “a number of the statements brought by (some of those making the allegation) were found to be not credible.”

Additionally, allegations regarding inappropriate training practices were made to the State Medical Board. In response, the district requested Jim DeTienne, section supervisor for the Montana EMS Board of Medical Examiners to come to the Department, review our actions and provide his opinion. On review of the Department he had nothing but praise. His statements included, we are “headed in the right direction and doing the right things as a Department.” He stated we have accomplished more positive change in a few months than most agencies do in years and, “keep doing what you are doing! Keep moving forward as you are doing good work and creating a good foundation for the new Chief you have coming in. I have no recommendations that you do anything different.”

Everything we have done has now been reviewed by both a professional HR investigation and the state EMS division with only positive findings. I trust the community to place more stock in this information than the opinions of a few bitter and angry people. I stand by every decision that I have made in my time as Chief of the Seeley Lake Rural Fire District including the dismissals. Despite what has been said, not one time did I come to any decision because of “personality conflicts” or “flared tempers.” Those decisions were made after many attempts at communication, pleadings to come together and have productive discussions, many communications with the County Attorney and many sleepless nights trying to avoid the ultimate outcome.

Because I answer to the Board of Trustees, I provided all the details of why I made the decisions I made regarding the need for the dismissals. Although not required to do so, the Board provided several opportunities for those people to come and discuss the issues and sadly, they declined. Once all the facts available were reviewed, the Board supported my decisions because they desire the best for the Department and the community just as I do.

Recently, Joann Wallenburn has publicly perpetuated the idea that comments made by the county attorney indicated that had the dismissed volunteers been provided the protections offered an employee, they would not have been dismissed. This is factually incorrect and not supported by his statements or the recent professional HR investigation. Yes, it is a fact that volunteers do not enjoy the same legal protections under the law that employees do. Yes, if those dismissed had been employees they would have had more options for recourse available to them. That is what was said by the county attorney. However, the theory that they would not have been dismissed if they had been offered the protection of employees was not stated by the county attorney and is an assumption without factual basis or evidence.

The county attorney was consulted frequently prior to any dismissals and the decision to dismiss was supported by him in all cases. Even with no legal obligation to do so, those dismissed were in fact treated more like employees than as volunteers. They were extended professional courtesies the Board and I felt were right and important in an effort to resolve the issues and keep them on the Department. In the end, I was left with no alternative but dismissal. The loss of many years of experience is always a tragedy. I have personally mourned the loss of those members and their experience and wish things could have worked out differently. However, my task was to improve the Department and set it up for success under the new Chief. A phrase which has become one of my favorites goes like this. “The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate” (Gruenter and Whitaker). Experience, while valuable, is not the only and frankly not the most important consideration. It is attitudes that create the culture, not skills or experience. The people of this community deserve the most professional, best performing emergency services the District can bring to bear! That can only happen when the culture within the Department is one of support, camaraderie and cooperation. That culture now exists within the Department. Skills can be taught and learned. Attitude is much harder to teach. It is the attitude that sets the culture and the culture is better than ever! If you want to hear it first hand, I encourage everyone to talk to your volunteers - the ones who are active within the Department. Ask them their opinion. Ask them if they believe things are better. There is one thing Joann Wallenburn is absolutely correct about in her statement last week. The volunteers ARE the most important part of the Department. Every decision made has been made with their best interest in mind.

Some persist in saying, “Changes need to be made.” The reality is, changes have been made and have already proven they were the very changes needed! The changes some would like to see would derail the very progress that has been and continues to be made! The list of improvements within the Department in large part due to the changes already made is incredible. The District has implemented three new policies and the Department a dozen Standard Operating Guidelines with many more on the way aimed at increasing the knowledge and professionalism of the Administration, members, and the Board of Trustees. We have added 10 new volunteers, two fully certified EMT’s and two soon to be certified EMT’s. While we may have lost 112 years of experience in those that have left, we have added close to 100 years right back in while greatly improving the overall culture and camaraderie of the Department!

In addition to dramatically improving the condition and appearance of the station, we have discovered and corrected significant maintenance deficiencies and renewed lost maintenance contracts which is imperative to providing the kind of consistent and professional emergency response this community deserves. We have ordered new turnouts for the members as well as other safety gear to make sure our volunteers are as safe as we can possibly make them! We have dramatically increased the pace of training and the involvement in training and on call is significantly improved! We have added two new endorsements to the toolbox of many of our EMT’s and put on over 110 hours of training in just the last five months!

There has been great progress made on resolving long-standing confusion regarding the relationship between the Volunteer Fire Company and the Fire District. The members have organized themselves under the District to ensure they have a stronger voice than ever regarding the operations of the Department. And finally, we have re-established the Auxiliary which already has six of its own members! This means in actuality, the Department has added 16 new members to its roster in just the last five months! Even our Auxiliary members come with years of experience in fire, emergency telecommunications and are even previous Board members. They bring countless decades of priceless knowledge, experience and ideas to the Department. Despite what may be said by a few, the volunteers of this incredible Fire District have embraced the momentum of positive change that will continue to grow and improve!

I want to thank this amazing community for its support in the time I have been here. It has been a huge honor and incredible experience. As my short tenure nears its end, the new Chief, Dave Lane, will be taking the reins. He brings a mountain of experience and plethora of skills to the Department and I have no doubt he will take the District to new and greater heights!

In closing, I encourage the community to get to know your volunteers. The ones who are active within the Department! Board members too! They are, after all, also volunteers! Encourage all of them and ask them for their thoughts. Appreciate the time and effort they put into serving this community simply out of a sense of duty! Their biggest reward is when they hear it from you, those they protect, that you appreciate what they do. When you see them at their regular jobs or out and about in this town they call home just like you, shake their hand. Tell them thank you. They deserve to know how much they are appreciated for what they do!