The Calaveras County grand jury wasn’t slated to issue a report on the Jenny Lind Fire Protection District until this summer, but news stories on the district’s turmoil and complaints from residents led the investigative body to launch an early investigation – and what it discovered doesn’t look good for the fire district.
The investigation led to five findings against the district, including inadequate training for volunteers, staff and command staff; Brown Act violations by the district’s board of directors; and that a hostile work environment exists.
“When they gave us the grand jury report, they told us that this is the first time they’ve ever given an interim report,” said district Director Dennis Petersen. “They saw problems that needed to be fixed right away.”
The district has been embroiled in controversy for months, with firefighters alleging a variety of transgressions on the part of command staff and community members storming board meetings to issue their complaints about conduct from command staff as well as the board itself.
The report stated that staff interviews revealed allegations of physical altercations, sexual harassment and discrimination that had not been properly documented, and recommended that the district adopt a zero-tolerance policy for such offenses, reporting them to law enforcement immediately.
The recommendation added that the entire staff, from volunteers to directors, should receive formal training by an outside consultant on appropriate workplace conduct and enforce and document mandatory training schedules.
On that charge, the district had begun to take positive steps on its own, Petersen said. The board recently hired Crabtree Consulting, a human resources firm, with the goal of conducting trainings and revising district policy.
Petersen added that the firm’s consultant is reviewing the district’s policies and procedures, and will make recommendations for revisions. Updates to the policy and procedures manual were also recommended in the report.
The district is also in the process of appointing a new chief – Interim Chief Steve Buettner has rejected the job on a permanent basis due to his position as a San Joaquin County sheriff’s deputy. Petersen said the committee formed to help select the new chief hoped to have three candidates for the board to interview in time for its February meeting.
Former chief Brian Chavez-Ochoa resigned this summer. The move came just days after a letter of no confidence in him and Battalion Chief Scott Mullen, signed by 11 of the district’s 22 firefighters, was submitted to the board, although Chavez-Ochoa denied any correlation.
He cited the board’s allowance of the letter as an agenda item without proper notice, which he said was a Brown Act violation, as his reason for leaving.
“I will not be a party to what I perceive to be a violation of the law,” Chavez-Ochoa said at the time.
According to the grand jury report, the board has been guilty of Brown Act violations on other occasions.
“Attendance by the grand jury at JLFPD Board meetings revealed unstructured, chaotic shouting matches involving board members, staff and the public. There were Brown Act violations and little adherence to any formal rules of order,” the report reads.
The grand jury recommended that directors be given training in and strictly adhere to the Brown Act, as well as adopt Robert’s Rules of Order for its meetings and conduct them in “an organized, transparent and impartial fashion.”
Petersen acknowledged that the board’s relationship to district residents firefighters had, over the last several chaotic board meetings, become strained.
“I’m hoping that with the grand jury report and hiring a new chief, we’ll be able to build those relationships and get back to the business of fighting fires.”
The report concluded with the finding that there was a public perception that the Jenny Lind firehouse was “no longer a community meeting place where members of the taxpaying public are welcome,” even at board meetings.
The board has been more hesitant to allow events to be held at the firehouse, citing insurance concerns, which has been a sharp point of contention with many neighbors who feel a sense of ownership of the building.
The report had no recommendation on community events in the firehouse, but urged the board to encourage other kinds of community participation, like firehouse tours or fire safety demonstrations. It also suggested that board agendas could be more accessible to the public by posting a large, easily visible sign in front of the station to display meeting times and last-minute changes.
To read the full report, click here.
http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/articles/2011/01/15/news/news01_fire.txt
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