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08-26-2002, 10:13 AM
Fire union puts Port Orange chief on hot seat
By JOHN WISNIEWSKI (john.wisniewski@news-jrnl.com)
Staff Writer
PORT ORANGE -- News that the city's unionized firefighters had announced a "no-confidence" vote in Fire Chief Mike Ertz sparked an uproar among City Council members late Tuesday.
The union executive board's notice states the chief would be a "lame duck" for the next 15 months in a department where, it said, his conduct over the years "has undermined the work environment."
Last week, Ertz resigned amid controversy over his criticizing the council for rejecting his request for additional firefighters. The resignation is effective Dec. 31, 2003, so he can complete 20 years with the city.
But after discussing the no-confidence vote, Mayor Dorothy Hukill and Councilmen Buzzy Windle and John Jackson demanded late Tuesday that City Manager Ken Parker take action to resolve what they perceived as employee unrest in the Fire Department.
"There have been problems in this department for years," Hukill said. "Let's not minimize it."
Wednesday, Councilwoman Mary Martin and Councilman Allen Green said they got the impression Parker's job would be in jeopardy if he doesn't fire Ertz.
"As soon as Hukill mentioned no-confidence, I felt it was directed at Ken Parker," Green said.
But Hukill said Wednesday that during Tuesday's meeting she had only stressed "there has to be recognition there is a problem in the Fire Department and a plan to correct the problem."
As for any indication that the city manager's job might be in jeopardy, she said, "I don't think anything along those lines was expressed."
Windle said "there's no threat whatsoever. This is just one of thousands of items that come before us, and 99 percent of the time I'm with the city manager, but I wanted my concern about the department to be known."
Jackson, when asked if Parker's job is on the line, said, "Not from me. He (Parker) is a dynamic individual with great leadership qualities. There's no way I'd entertain anything like that. It's absurd."
Parker, who has sole responsibility to hire and fire department heads according to the city charter, said he did not believe his job was at risk if he does not fire Ertz.
"What I heard is that we need to protect the interests of all our people, which will be done," he said, "and to get the process going to select a new chief, which I'm already doing."
Parker said a representative of the firefighters union will be asked to participate in setting the qualifications and preferences to be used in selecting Ertz's replacement.
An attempt to obtain further information from the union office Wednesday was unsuccessful. Ertz said in a telephone interview he preferred not to comment.
Not all council members had received copies of the union's vote before the meeting. Hukill, Windle and Jackson said in interviews Wednesday the notice was delivered to them Tuesday afternoon. Martin and Green said faxed notices awaited them when they arrived at their homes after Tuesday's council meeting.
Green left the meeting in protest, saying it wouldn't be proper for him to discuss the issue "when I'm not getting the same information as everyone else."
Hukill's only comment as Green left the meeting was "Bye."
By JOHN WISNIEWSKI (john.wisniewski@news-jrnl.com)
Staff Writer
PORT ORANGE -- News that the city's unionized firefighters had announced a "no-confidence" vote in Fire Chief Mike Ertz sparked an uproar among City Council members late Tuesday.
The union executive board's notice states the chief would be a "lame duck" for the next 15 months in a department where, it said, his conduct over the years "has undermined the work environment."
Last week, Ertz resigned amid controversy over his criticizing the council for rejecting his request for additional firefighters. The resignation is effective Dec. 31, 2003, so he can complete 20 years with the city.
But after discussing the no-confidence vote, Mayor Dorothy Hukill and Councilmen Buzzy Windle and John Jackson demanded late Tuesday that City Manager Ken Parker take action to resolve what they perceived as employee unrest in the Fire Department.
"There have been problems in this department for years," Hukill said. "Let's not minimize it."
Wednesday, Councilwoman Mary Martin and Councilman Allen Green said they got the impression Parker's job would be in jeopardy if he doesn't fire Ertz.
"As soon as Hukill mentioned no-confidence, I felt it was directed at Ken Parker," Green said.
But Hukill said Wednesday that during Tuesday's meeting she had only stressed "there has to be recognition there is a problem in the Fire Department and a plan to correct the problem."
As for any indication that the city manager's job might be in jeopardy, she said, "I don't think anything along those lines was expressed."
Windle said "there's no threat whatsoever. This is just one of thousands of items that come before us, and 99 percent of the time I'm with the city manager, but I wanted my concern about the department to be known."
Jackson, when asked if Parker's job is on the line, said, "Not from me. He (Parker) is a dynamic individual with great leadership qualities. There's no way I'd entertain anything like that. It's absurd."
Parker, who has sole responsibility to hire and fire department heads according to the city charter, said he did not believe his job was at risk if he does not fire Ertz.
"What I heard is that we need to protect the interests of all our people, which will be done," he said, "and to get the process going to select a new chief, which I'm already doing."
Parker said a representative of the firefighters union will be asked to participate in setting the qualifications and preferences to be used in selecting Ertz's replacement.
An attempt to obtain further information from the union office Wednesday was unsuccessful. Ertz said in a telephone interview he preferred not to comment.
Not all council members had received copies of the union's vote before the meeting. Hukill, Windle and Jackson said in interviews Wednesday the notice was delivered to them Tuesday afternoon. Martin and Green said faxed notices awaited them when they arrived at their homes after Tuesday's council meeting.
Green left the meeting in protest, saying it wouldn't be proper for him to discuss the issue "when I'm not getting the same information as everyone else."
Hukill's only comment as Green left the meeting was "Bye."