Paradise Valley Fire Chief Contract Questioned

Two of the three newly elected Paradise Valley Fire Commissioners met with local media on November 23, 2009 to discuss their concerns about a contract that was entered into between Paradise Valley Fire District and Paradise Valley Fire Chief Jock T. Johnson.

Brad Holifield and Orrin Everhart, along with Rodney Ferreira who was unable to attend the meeting, were elected in a landslide vote for Paradise Valley Fire Commissioners replacing incumbents Fred Marek and Margie Ladely. John Neumayer did not run for re-election.

Brad and Orrin said that they had grave reservations not only about the contract between the Paradise Valley Fire District and Chief Johnson, but about the way the contract came into being as well.

The contract, signed by Marek, Neumayer and Ladely on September 8, 2009, engages the services of Jock T. Johnson as Administrative Fire Chief on a full-time basis. Among several clauses, the contract stipulates that Johnson will be paid $3,750 per month and states that, "If the Administrative Fire Chief is terminated by the Board for any reason during the first 365 calendar days of employment, he (Johnson) shall be entitled to a severance compensation for one year of wages." Additionally, it states that, "In the event that the Administrative Fire Chief is terminated or asked to resign by the Board after the initial 365 days but prior to two years of continued employment…for any reason other than a finding of probable cause or conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor involving dishonesty or moral turpitude…he (Johnson) shall be entitled to a lump sum cash payment equal to 30 calendar days gross salary."

The contract is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2010. Brad, Orrin and Rod will be sworn into office on January 11, 2010.

"In order to understand this issue, you have to look at the whole situation in context," said Brad. "When the taxing district was originally proposed to the voters in Paradise Valley, it was proposed with an operating budget of $112,000 which is what the voters agreed to when they voted to form the taxing district. Then when the Fire Commissioners, who were appointed by the governor, came back with a budget of $246,000, there was a big protest from the community. One portion of that protest was the fire chief's salary. The Board then had another meeting and cut the budget to $151,000 but left the fire chief's salary intact. At another meeting on September 8, with Fire Commissioner elections coming up, one of the posted agenda items said, "contract for services," not specifying that it was the contract for the fire chief's salary and the terms of employment. The contract was passed and signed at the meeting under the heading "Resolution #2016." Incidentally, September 8 was the meeting that Margie Ladely was sworn in to replace a Fire Commissioner who had moved out of the area. Then, in October at the Candidates' Night public meeting, the issue of going to a part-time contract was brought up, but neither Marek, Neumayer or Ladely mentioned the existence of the contract that they had signed in September. In fact, it's possible that this is the first notification to many people that this contract is in existence."

Brad and Orrin pointed out that the $45,000 salary that Johnson would receive is approximately a third of the total operating budget of $151,000 that was amended by the Board in response to community outcry.

Brad and Orrin are also concerned that during "the process leading up to the approval of this contract, there is evidence that the process may have violated the Idaho Open Meeting law." As private citizens, "The Board-Elect members will be seeking legal counsel for redress of possible violations of the Idaho Open Meeting law and the validity of Chief Johnson's employment contract."

Orrin interjected, saying, "We are not saying that Jock Johnson is not a capable fire chief. From what we understand, he has done some very good things in Paradise Valley as far as upgrading equipment, getting more training and getting donations. We just want to have a contract from an elected Board, not an appointed Board, and we were elected on the promise that we would hire a part-time fire chief and hold to a $112,000 budget. Our hands are being tied with this contract. We would rather resolve this without taking legal action. I called Jock on November 20 and left a message. I also stopped by the fire hall on the morning of November 23, but have been unable to get a hold of him. We would like to sit down and see if we can work this out. We are not questioning Jock's ability - we are questioning the contract."

Brad stated that he had contacted Nancy Stricklin, the attorney of record for Paradise Valley Fire District, and that "she did not see, review or help write the contract."

Both Orrin and Brad said that they are committed to getting Paradise Valley Fire District back to the original $112,000 budget.

"The $151,000 levy for 2010 has been set," emphasized Brad. "Our plan, as the new Fire Commissioners, is to spend less than was previously budgeted. We are going to come up with ways to save so as to not spend all the money. We are allowed to carry a budget surplus over to the next year so as to reduce the levy and reduce taxes in 2011."

Orrin stated that he thinks the situation with Chief Johnson's contract could be easily resolved.

"We believe that the appropriate thing for the current Board to do at the December 8 meeting is to void the contract and leave the budget to us to carry out the wishes of the voters because we were told so clearly what the voters wanted," he said. "Even if the Board made this contract with the best of intentions in September, when they found out the taxpayers' will, they should have rescinded the contract. We truly are hopeful that this can be worked out by the current Board."

Brad concurred, stating, "It just seems to me that the Board wants to impose their will on the taxpayers. We feel that they should void this contract. I am excited about the future and I'm looking forward to being Fire Commissioner of the district. We would just as soon get past this and look to the future."

The next meeting of the Paradise Valley Fire District Board is scheduled for December 8, 2009 at 7pm at the Paradise Valley Fire Hall. It is an open meeting and the public is invited to attend.