GREENWOOD TWP- Reverberations from the dismissal of seven fire department members here in February continued to dominate the agenda during the town board’s regular April 11 meeting. The dismissal followed actions at the board’s January meeting, where ten members of the department presented an unsigned letter to the board, demanding the board remove newly-appointed fire chief Jeff Maus and allow them to elect their own chief. The letter further stated that the firefighters would “no longer respond to 911 calls until those conditions are met.” The board interpreted the letter as a “voluntary quit,” and officially discharged seven of the members who had left their gear at the town hall.
At Tuesday’s meeting, four of the seven former firefighters, Jet Galonski, Rick Worringer, Tammy Mortaloni, and Tom Mortaloni, were in attendance. Galonski read from prepared remarks, reiterating their opposition to the town board’s decision to remove them.
“It is not easy for me to come here to speak,” he said. “I understand this will fall on deaf ears.”
Galonski reiterated their belief that “none of us voluntarily quit. You and the board cannot make that decision for us. Allegations were made against us without knowing the charges,” Galonski continued, referring to the reasons they were removed from the department.
“No one in the department would have voted for him as chief,” he said. “We have a protest before a meeting. The supervisors would not listen to us. Firefighting is a dangerous business. We have to have trust in our officers.”
Galonski’s plea proved ineffective, as the board responded by voting 4-1, with supervisor Paul Skubic voting against, to send formal letters of termination to the seven former department members. The board noted that all would be eligible to rejoin the department, if they desire, after six months.
Supervisor Rick Stoehr explained that the fire department members are considered essential employees under state law, and that their actions could be considered an illegal strike or abstaining from full performance of their duties.
Rick Worringer said he disagreed with the categorization of fire department members. “We are not salaried employees.”
But Stoehr explained that by taking hourly pay they are not considered volunteers under state law.
“You are an employee,” he said. “You violated the law. And in that action, you removed yourselves from the job. That is a fact.”
“You are fired,” Sue Drobac said.
Drobac said the township attorney had told the board that the unsigned letter, along with the department members returning their gear to the town hall, was the reason for the action back in February.
“You turned in your equipment,” said current chair John Bassing. “You cannot respond to a call.” Bassing noted that fire department members do not have access to the town hall, so would not have been able to retrieve their gear if they needed to respond to a call.
Skubic disagreed with the board’s action.
“We need these people, let’s get over it,” he said. “It doesn’t look good for us as a board and a township.”
The board had removed chief Dave Fazio, assistant chief Mike Indihar, and safety officer Rick Worringer from their leadership positions last fall on a split vote, after board chair Sue Drobac cited the chief and assistant chief for not performing their administrative duties. Worringer, who was not cited for non-performance, had then asked to also be removed from his position. Earlier this year, Indihar was removed as a department member, after advice from the township attorney.
Sheriffs called to
training meeting
Chair Bassing told the board he had spoken to the township attorney about the incident at the March 21 fire department training. Chief Maus had called the sheriff’s department, seeking to remove some former members who were attempting to participate in that month’s training session.
The sheriff’s department took no action on the matter.
“Us showing up for training is not a criminal offense,” Galonski said.
Bassing said that a trespass notice would be given by the sheriff’s department if any former members attempt to attend a training meeting again.
While the board had previously voted to make fire department business meetings open to the public, this did not apply to fire department trainings, Maus has told the Timberjay. The department now holds two training meetings a month, but they do not hold regular business meetings.
Other fire department actions
The board approved the purchase of two new GPS units for the townships two fire boats, at a cost of up to $5,400. Maus had previously discussed the issue with the board, noting the older GPS units were not reliable enough for nighttime navigation on the lake during stormy weather. He said the units are on backorder, so he wanted to get the order in now so they will hopefully be available by the time the boats are back on the water. One of the older units will be installed on the boat stationed by the Trout Lake portage.
Maus reported they think they are close to resolving the fuel line issues on fire boat number one, and that otherwise, those engines appear to be in working order. They have been working with Birch Point Marine and Joe’s Marine mechanics on the issues.
The fire department responded to one fire call and eight EMS calls last month.