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| Yesterday afternoon it was discovered that there were apparently "2nd" personnel files maintained on select fire department personnel, in contravention to board policy and bargaining agreements, separate and apart from the 1 and only official personnel files kept downtown. This was discovered as some disciplinary letters to file, apparently, "never made it" to either of these files--as they should have. So this will get a thorough discussion later this morning.... |
As I begin the gathering of documents necessary to fulfill a public records request of me made by the paid firefighters union--a question percolates about whether or not "letters to the file" on three battalion chiefs that I have acquired are actually public records. (these are in relation to some serious law, ordinance, and policy violations that apparently occured last summer in a fire house and for which nobody accepted responsibility or gave a cogent explanation). As I have said multiple times, there is a massive, stunning, and unacceptable lack of leadership in the county's fire department right now, and sadly these documents appear to show more illustrations of this. Like a rudderless ship without a chief for going on TWO YEARS!
According to the county attorney, these particular documents are public records. But while I was ascertaining the "whether or not" determination about these documents in particular--it was brought to my attention that these documents were not actually ever even put in the official files of these three employess.
What?
Where were they, if not in the employee's official file, was my first and natural response?
"Uh, we're not sure--we thought these were put in the file. But apparently they were not, they were instead given to the interim fire chief and he put them in his separate file and they never made it downtown." Was the answer I got yesterday afternoon in my conference call. What?
Here is the thing: There should be, by law, ordinance, statutes, and under bargaining agreements---1
