Committee: Reinstate Fire Chief
HUNTSVILLE - A committee assembled to review the situation surrounding the feasability of a full-time fire chief in the Town of Huntsville returned its report to the Huntsville Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday night, and recommended that the board reinstate fire chief Dean King permanently.
Chief King was discharged in early October, then reinstated for a temporary 30 day term at the board's October 27 meeting while the committee reviewed the situation.
On Monday, the board agreed with at least that part of the committee's report and, acting on a motion by Vice-Mayor Gary Sexton, voted 4-0, with Alderman Charles Lance absent, to reinstate the chief permanently.
As for the committee's other recommendation,s the board said it would have a worksession to go over the information presented it by the committee's report.
The committee, made up of former civic leaders and town business owners, said in its report that it had met at length on four different occasions and had interviewed several people, including Mayor George Potter, all four aldermen, the city recorder, town secretary, fire chief and several members of the fire department, among others.
Regarding the fire department situation, the committee said the department's budget, with reductions recommended by Chief King, should suit the town's objectives.
"It appears that this budget will allow the department to achieve its plans for a Class 5 ISO rating," the report said, "and maintain its equipment and proficiency to the standards that the town should expect of them.
"We believe the Town of Huntsville has benefited from having a full-time Fire Chief, and that the chief's salary is in line with what the town can afford," the report continued. "We recommend that the reduced budget proposed by the Fire Chief be both adopted and funded, and that Chief King be retained in the position of Fire Chief at his current salary."
The report also said that, in acting to terminate Chief King, Mayor Potter, "has acted in good faith, and in a way he believed was necessary given the financial pressures of his office . . . [but] his decision to terminate the Fire Chief without consulting with the Board of Aldermen constituted a lapse of judgement and should not have been taken. In the future, we strongly encourage both the Mayor and Board to work together on such issues, as the law requires, each benefiting from the counsel and experience that his fellow elected officials bring to the decision making process."
In other areas, the report stated that it found the town has spent "slightly more Year to Date than a straight-line projection would predict (38.8% of the budget spent with about 33% of the fiscal year behind us). At the same time, however, collections are ahead almost as much as spending (with 37.1% of the total budget collected to date)." The shortfall, the report stated, represents only about 1 percent of the town's total budget for the current fiscal year and shouldn't cause any serious difficulty in meeting the budget for the remainder of the year. The report surmised that the town's cash shortfall is, "real but temporary," and was caused by a recent payment for construction at the Town Springs Park.
The committee further stated its belief that Mayor Potter's emphasis on town beautification, which has been criticized by several aldermen, "is well placed." The committee recommended that the board set a reasonable spending limit for the mayor to use in the work of town improvements.
In its conclusion, the committee stated in its report that, "this committee believes it is unfortunate that the pressures of their offices, and differences of personality have caused both the Mayor and the Board at times to give way to mistrust and petty bickering, especially in public. Recent events give us reason to hope, however, that everyone involved would like to move beyond that.
"Toward that end," the report continued, "we urge all of our officials to remember that the citizens chose each of them because of the unique skills and experiences that they bring to their office, and that no individual or small group can do it alone."
Mayor Potter expressed his gratitude to the committee for their work.
"The town belongs to the people, not one individual," he said. "We're only five people sitting up here and there's almost 1,200 in the town, so they're the boss."
In other business. . .
Acting on a motion by Sexton, the board voted 3-1, with Mayor Potter voting against, to recall Chesty Strunk, a town employee who was previously laid off. Strunk will be employed at the town's sewer plant. Sexton said an additional person was necessary with the new plant being built. "One person is not able to handle it," he said.
By a 4-0 vote, the board adopted the so-called "God Resolution," which was recently adopted by the Scott County Commission. The resolution, considered controversial by some, is being considered by government bodies across middle and east Tennessee and was most recently passed by Anderson County, in addition to Scott County.
The next meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will be held on Monday, December 22. The board will meet at 7 p.m. at the Huntsville Municipal Building.
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