Open letter to the District 28 board of fire commissioners: the voter’s demand answers to these questions. We by law are given the right to know what decisions you are making.
1. What is the current board’s plan to pay for the extra money that has been or will be spent this year?
a. Chief Clow contract cash out: $82,240.47
b. Paying two chiefs at the same time: Clow $14,656.41 (wages only) and $10,000 ($8,500 wage plus $1,500 housing; this amount will increase from $8,500 to $11,500 starting Sept. 1 and then the forfeited $6,000 in wages will be paid to him July and August of 2015)
c. Roughly $26,000 over on budgeted legal expenses? Year-to-date legal cost for Mike Reynolds $29,653.47. In the budget that the commissioners passed $4,000 was budgeted for legal expenses.
d. PST Investigation $5,436.13
Grand total unbudgeted expenses year-to-date: $150,039.07
2. A vote was taken on 1/6/2014 to have an outside investigation done, with no other information to the citizens and public; now that the investigation is done can you please explain to the citizens the process of how the investigation was initiated and carried out as well as the current status and outcome of the investigation?
3. Please explain the details on how Chief Clow either decided to resign or was asked to resign and why did attorney Reynolds take action on a consensus from executive session if no vote was taken? What or who gave attorney Reynolds the authority to take action on either a decision or what he perceived as a decision?
4. It is now June 2, 2014; can the citizens expect more firefighters be laid off at the end of this month, when the Safer Grant has been satisfied?
5. How does the board plan to financially get the district through the rest of the year and into next year without losing more firefighters?
6. What is the plan to hire more firefighters to bring the staffing levels back to standards?
7. Who will be taking meeting minutes at the fire commissioner meetings?
8. Can the meeting minutes from May 5 reflect the financial details of both contracts that were voted on and approved?
9. Why is favoritism shown to Ted DeVol and Mike Qualls during public comment? Why has nothing been said to them about their comments being constructive or relevant to the current situation?
Angelina Taylor
Port Orchard
