By Gina Duwe
For the Times gduwe@gazettextra.com
BRODHEAD - Brodhead's embattled fire chief said he hopes to get all members of the city's divided fire department "on the same page."
The volunteers need to work together and accept the way he runs the department, Chief Jay Bohan said.
"I think after we get all this put to bed, I think it will be a much stronger organization, and we'll see who wants to be a part of it," he said.
His comments come after some firefighters last spring raised concerns to city officials over Bohan's performance as the city's first full-time chief. A consultant was hired to sort through the issues, but the consultant's report didn't directly address concerns raised by firefighters.
Two committees unanimously recommended against rehiring Bohan, but the city council voted 5-0 on July 20 to renew his contract until July 27, 2011.
Bohan is now working with department administrators and a newly formed fire oversight committee to write policies and procedures.
"My hope is now that they have renewed his contract, a good leader will bring all these people together," said Ann-Marie Elmer, a personnel committee member who recommended against rehiring Bohan.
"He could still unite these people. They're all volunteers, they're all incredibly devoted. I would just feel terrible if ... anyone left the department because of it or if anyone was forced to leave."
The personnel committee, which voted unanimously July 6 against rehiring Bohan, worked hard to base its decision on job performance and kept "any personal aspects out of it," Elmer said.
"I really feel that a good leader will make the best of this and really show his stuff as far as uniting people instead of dividing them further," she said. "It's a real opportunity he's been given here."
Addressing complaints
The council in May hired Tom Purdy of the Development Group in Monroe to mediate the situation. He received input from 85 percent of the department's 36 active firefighters, according to his 12-page report.
The report, however, does not include specific complaints from firefighters and makes recommendations without identifying problems or concerns.
Through an open records request, the Gazette obtained letters written to the city by four firefighters expressing concerns about Bohan's leadership and job performance. In one letter, firefighter Bill Ruchti said he's had concerns about Bohan's knowledge, skills and abilities and cited examples of Bohan's actions at fire scenes and within the department.
Ruchti was the department's previous chief and is a full-time firefighter in Janesville. He pushed for the paid chief position in Brodhead and said in his letter to the city that he was reluctant to speak up but was writing at the request of representatives from the city council, personnel committee and Rural Fire Association.
Ruchti told the Gazette it is a misconception that only six firefighters had concerns.
"There's a much larger number than that," he said.
Bohan said the people who raised concerns have their opinions, and they've been discussed.
"We're continuing to move on, and I'm proving myself everyday," he said. "Hopefully, we can get through that and move on because we've got good people who are concerned. Hopefully, they can work through this, come back and work as a team."
Chief's rehiring
The city council's July 20 decision to rehire Bohan surprised some people because the personnel committee in a joint recommendation with the Brodhead Rural Fire Association voted unanimously July 6 to not rehire him. Four of the six council members were at the July 6 meeting.
The motion at the committee meeting to not rehire Bohan was made by Councilman Ric Genthe. The committee's chairwoman is councilwoman Shelly Kuhl. In addition, councilmen Phil Rundle and John Bernstein, members of the public safety committee, attended the meeting.
"I was very surprised at the city council's decision because we recommended they not renew the contract, not based on anything personal, just business and performance issues raised in that Development Group report," Elmer said.
"We put in hours and hours and hours in our personnel committee meetings," she said. "That wasn't the direction we were headed."
The Gazette asked all council members to explain their votes. Councilman Phil Rundle could not be reached for comment.
n Genthe - who made the motion at the personnel committee to not rehire the chief but voted at the council meeting in favor of renewing the chief's contract - said he supports Bohan 100 percent. He said he made the motion at the personnel committee to not rehire Bohan because the group had reached an impasse in closed session.
Genthe said he was adamant about rehiring Bohan but probably was the only one. When he realized he "wasn't going to change all their minds," he said he wanted to move the issue on to the city council where he could "do everything I can to convince those city council members to vote for the chief."
n Kuhl - who voted at the committee meeting against rehiring Bohan but voted at the council meeting in favor of renewing his contract - said that during the week in between she had more time to think and consider solutions.
"Some other ideas presented themselves, and those were discussed with council," she said. "In light of those new ideas, I had to change my mind."
Those other ideas included changes the council is requiring of Bohan and the department: writing job descriptions, creating a grievance policy, enacting a standard operating procedure and creating a policy and procedures manual.
n Councilman Richard Hale said he made a motion during the council discussion to not rehire Bohan, but it died for a lack of a second.
Despite officials saying the council vote was 6-0 in favor of rehiring Bohan, Hale said he didn't say anything during the voice vote.
"I didn't vote for him," he said.
Hale said voicing a "no" vote wouldn't have made any difference.
"I really don't know how things went the way they did," he said. "I thought the (personnel) committee had checked into everything."
He said he was just following the wishes of his Fifth Ward constituents, who didn't want Bohan rehired.
"That's really all I could do," he said.
n Councilman John Bernstein, who attended the personnel committee meeting as an observer, said the change in votes is hard to explain.
"With all the facts presented, there were just two sides to the story," he said. "We made the decision to start over again and give everybody a new chance and try to work out and allow the chief to present his credentials."
n Councilman Hubert Vickers said he couldn't share anything from the closed session.
"He (Bohan) was hired for one more year, and if this doesn't straightened out, he will no longer be our chief," Vickers said. "That's all I can tell you."
n Mayor Doug Pinnow did not vote but said "there was just quite a bit of discussion, and they were convinced that it was best to keep him there."
The contract extension is for only one year, so if things don't work out, the council will face the same decision, he said.
"The idea is to move forward in a positive direction and make everything work," he said.
Ruchti said he thinks everyone will move forward together because everyone knows why they're on the department.
"It's not for an individual, it's for the community," he said, "and I think people see that and will work through this."
- Gina Duwe is a reporter for the Janesville Gazette.
For the Times gduwe@gazettextra.com
BRODHEAD - Brodhead's embattled fire chief said he hopes to get all members of the city's divided fire department "on the same page."
The volunteers need to work together and accept the way he runs the department, Chief Jay Bohan said.
"I think after we get all this put to bed, I think it will be a much stronger organization, and we'll see who wants to be a part of it," he said.
His comments come after some firefighters last spring raised concerns to city officials over Bohan's performance as the city's first full-time chief. A consultant was hired to sort through the issues, but the consultant's report didn't directly address concerns raised by firefighters.
Two committees unanimously recommended against rehiring Bohan, but the city council voted 5-0 on July 20 to renew his contract until July 27, 2011.
Bohan is now working with department administrators and a newly formed fire oversight committee to write policies and procedures.
"My hope is now that they have renewed his contract, a good leader will bring all these people together," said Ann-Marie Elmer, a personnel committee member who recommended against rehiring Bohan.
"He could still unite these people. They're all volunteers, they're all incredibly devoted. I would just feel terrible if ... anyone left the department because of it or if anyone was forced to leave."
The personnel committee, which voted unanimously July 6 against rehiring Bohan, worked hard to base its decision on job performance and kept "any personal aspects out of it," Elmer said.
"I really feel that a good leader will make the best of this and really show his stuff as far as uniting people instead of dividing them further," she said. "It's a real opportunity he's been given here."
Addressing complaints
The council in May hired Tom Purdy of the Development Group in Monroe to mediate the situation. He received input from 85 percent of the department's 36 active firefighters, according to his 12-page report.
The report, however, does not include specific complaints from firefighters and makes recommendations without identifying problems or concerns.
Through an open records request, the Gazette obtained letters written to the city by four firefighters expressing concerns about Bohan's leadership and job performance. In one letter, firefighter Bill Ruchti said he's had concerns about Bohan's knowledge, skills and abilities and cited examples of Bohan's actions at fire scenes and within the department.
Ruchti was the department's previous chief and is a full-time firefighter in Janesville. He pushed for the paid chief position in Brodhead and said in his letter to the city that he was reluctant to speak up but was writing at the request of representatives from the city council, personnel committee and Rural Fire Association.
Ruchti told the Gazette it is a misconception that only six firefighters had concerns.
"There's a much larger number than that," he said.
Bohan said the people who raised concerns have their opinions, and they've been discussed.
"We're continuing to move on, and I'm proving myself everyday," he said. "Hopefully, we can get through that and move on because we've got good people who are concerned. Hopefully, they can work through this, come back and work as a team."
Chief's rehiring
The city council's July 20 decision to rehire Bohan surprised some people because the personnel committee in a joint recommendation with the Brodhead Rural Fire Association voted unanimously July 6 to not rehire him. Four of the six council members were at the July 6 meeting.
The motion at the committee meeting to not rehire Bohan was made by Councilman Ric Genthe. The committee's chairwoman is councilwoman Shelly Kuhl. In addition, councilmen Phil Rundle and John Bernstein, members of the public safety committee, attended the meeting.
"I was very surprised at the city council's decision because we recommended they not renew the contract, not based on anything personal, just business and performance issues raised in that Development Group report," Elmer said.
"We put in hours and hours and hours in our personnel committee meetings," she said. "That wasn't the direction we were headed."
The Gazette asked all council members to explain their votes. Councilman Phil Rundle could not be reached for comment.
n Genthe - who made the motion at the personnel committee to not rehire the chief but voted at the council meeting in favor of renewing the chief's contract - said he supports Bohan 100 percent. He said he made the motion at the personnel committee to not rehire Bohan because the group had reached an impasse in closed session.
Genthe said he was adamant about rehiring Bohan but probably was the only one. When he realized he "wasn't going to change all their minds," he said he wanted to move the issue on to the city council where he could "do everything I can to convince those city council members to vote for the chief."
n Kuhl - who voted at the committee meeting against rehiring Bohan but voted at the council meeting in favor of renewing his contract - said that during the week in between she had more time to think and consider solutions.
"Some other ideas presented themselves, and those were discussed with council," she said. "In light of those new ideas, I had to change my mind."
Those other ideas included changes the council is requiring of Bohan and the department: writing job descriptions, creating a grievance policy, enacting a standard operating procedure and creating a policy and procedures manual.
n Councilman Richard Hale said he made a motion during the council discussion to not rehire Bohan, but it died for a lack of a second.
Despite officials saying the council vote was 6-0 in favor of rehiring Bohan, Hale said he didn't say anything during the voice vote.
"I didn't vote for him," he said.
Hale said voicing a "no" vote wouldn't have made any difference.
"I really don't know how things went the way they did," he said. "I thought the (personnel) committee had checked into everything."
He said he was just following the wishes of his Fifth Ward constituents, who didn't want Bohan rehired.
"That's really all I could do," he said.
n Councilman John Bernstein, who attended the personnel committee meeting as an observer, said the change in votes is hard to explain.
"With all the facts presented, there were just two sides to the story," he said. "We made the decision to start over again and give everybody a new chance and try to work out and allow the chief to present his credentials."
n Councilman Hubert Vickers said he couldn't share anything from the closed session.
"He (Bohan) was hired for one more year, and if this doesn't straightened out, he will no longer be our chief," Vickers said. "That's all I can tell you."
n Mayor Doug Pinnow did not vote but said "there was just quite a bit of discussion, and they were convinced that it was best to keep him there."
The contract extension is for only one year, so if things don't work out, the council will face the same decision, he said.
"The idea is to move forward in a positive direction and make everything work," he said.
Ruchti said he thinks everyone will move forward together because everyone knows why they're on the department.
"It's not for an individual, it's for the community," he said, "and I think people see that and will work through this."
- Gina Duwe is a reporter for the Janesville Gazette.