Vale ambulance workers fired up over department restructuring
Council to hear concerns Tuesday
By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Sunday, September 7, 2008 12:32 AM PDT
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| KATIE PIZZA | ARGUS OBSERVER
The recent restructuring of the Vale Fire and Ambulance Department’s chain of command has come under fire by ambulance crew members. Some of those members will share their concerns with the Vale City Council Tuesday night. |
Vale—The recent restructuring of the Vale Fire and Ambulance Department’s chain of command has not pleased everyone connected with the newly-reorganized entity.
The Vale City Council is slated to hear ambulance members’ concerns at its meeting Tuesday regarding the council’s decision last month that placed Vale Fire Chief Todd Hesse at the helm of both divisions.
“As I write this, the day after your decision, at least six of the most active members have already taken a leave of absence or resigned,” former Vale ambulance supervisor Marge Mitchell wrote in a letter she submitted to the council Aug. 27. “Obviously, they are protesting your decision the one way left to them, with their feet.”
Mike Buckner, who is also reconsidering his role in the department, expressed much of the same veiwpoint in a phone interview Friday.
“Most all of us have taken leave of absences from the department,” he said. “It’s not a good thing.”
At the Aug. 26 meeting, prior to the council’s approval, Councilman Brad Williams presented a diagram that showed Hesse overseeing both the ambulance and fire divisions.
City leaders assert the move results in a clearer chain of command that moves from Hesse to City Manager Brent Barton to the council.
Karlene Keller, currently on a leave of absence from the ambulance department, faulted how the council made its decision.
“The way I felt about the council meeting is that I felt like I wasn’t even in the room and that anything that I had to say didn’t even matter,” she said.
Buckner said a majority of the ambulance crew opposed the administrative restructuring proposal from the start.
“They gave us a list of possible changes,” he said of city administration. “Then we sat down as a group and said ‘this will work’ and ‘that won’t work.’ The one decision we said would never work is this one.”
Barton said the council does have the ability to rescind its decision if it chooses to do so.
Mitchell also faulted council members for not consulting all Vale ambulance members as well as the Vale Emergency Services Committee before making their decision.
Keller also questions the reasoning behind the change.
“I don’t think it’s so much a structural issue, which is what they put forth,” Keller said. “The structure of the ambulance and fire departments wasn’t really the issue.”
Regarding the restructuring of the chain of command, Keller said she didn’t necessarily oppose the idea.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad idea,” she said. “It’s good to have one person in charge.”
However, she said, the council made its decision before clearly defining Hesse’s and other department members’ roles and responsibilities.
“They need to have a plan in place of what everybody’s role is,” Keller said.
Mitchell also questioned the changed administration in her letter.
“Was this idea fully formed, or was it just an idea?” Mitchell asked. “If so, why did you vote for an idea whose details were not worked out?”
Hesse would not comment on his current responsibilities for this story. He only said he has been speaking with Barton to create a document better explaining the position.
The council meeting, which will include a public comment segment, will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Vale City Hall.
