Fire department staff says ‘disconnect’ with trustees prompted resignations

Trustees contend former chief failed to accurately relay information to staff

by Melissa Martin

Sept. 26 township trustees work session and Oct. 1 township trustees meeting

Following a series of fire department resignations, the Hinckley Board of Trustees met with senior members of the township’s fire department to mediate concerns, dispel rumors and improve communication.

Trustees Jack Swedyk and Cyntia Engleman hosted the meeting, which was also attended by acting Fire Chief Shawn Barrett and Lieutenants Jonathan Thomas and Jerod Solomon.

Trustees said they were unaware of any issues in the department leading up to the resignation of Fire Chief Jestin Grossenbaugh, effective Sept. 2. Swedyk said the chief informed the board just minutes before the Aug. 20 township trustees meeting that he accepted a job as acting chief for another department. Prior to that, he said, there was no indication the chief or any other members of the department were disgruntled.

Additional fire department resignations were announced Sept. 17 and two resignation letters citing “unprofessional” behavior, lack of communication and lack of appreciation on behalf of township trustees were read during the Sept. 17 trustees meeting. Those allegations, along with several other departmental grievances, were among the topics discussed during the work session.

Barrett told the board that from the department’s perspective, there has been a decline in communication between trustees and the department. He believes that disconnect has contributed to many of the issues causing the rift.

“There’s a feeling that there’s a lack of support,” Barrett said. “I’m going to be honest. I think the times I’ve seen all three of you in the station, I can count on one hand.”

Barrett also noted that trustees appeared to question the fire chief’s decision making and demonstrated an overall lack of appreciation for the department. He said the department received only criticism from the board in the days following a fire at Big 3 Racing on W. 130th Street this past July despite the fact that crews were able to prevent the blaze from damaging two neighboring businesses.

“From our side, we had just stopped multiple millions of dollars in damage from being done to surrounding businesses and [the only response we received from trustees] was a question about why we had to cut [a] couple hundred dollars worth of fence to get the hoses through,” he said.

Swedyk said he questioned the fencing because it was recently installed as part of improvements to the Kobak ball fields. He reminded the department that, as trustees, the board serves at the discretion of the community and needs to be able to justify expenses such as this in the event such damages are called into question by the residents. In this case, he said, that is exactly what occurred.

“We just need[ed] an answer,” Swedyk said. “[The community] paid for it.”

Swedyk told firefighters not to be wary of bringing issues to the board. If trustees aren’t made aware of issues, he said, they can’t address them.

“I don’t think Chief Grossenbaugh had ever come to me about anything during my tenure, to specifically say here’s a problem we need to address,” he noted.

Swedyk recapped the outcome of the work session during the Oct. 1 regular trustees meeting.

“After listening to [the firefighters’] concerns, it became readily apparent that the fire staff was not being fully informed by the former chief of information relative to any of their concerns or of the reason for any of the actions [being] taken at the trustee level,” he said. “The fire personnel who were there found the explanations to be reasonable and had no objection to the accuracy of the information that was provided to them,” he said.

In the weeks since the work session, Swedyk said he remains optimistic that relations between the department and trustees will continue to improve. He believes the new fire chief will “have the ability to effect positive changes that should also improve the situation.”

“It was evident in that meeting that the main disconnect was the lack of information being accurately relayed to the fire personnel by the previous fire chief,” he said. “That was surprising to the board and very disconcerting.” ∞