Finalist for fire chief caught in controversy in former position
By KEN BLACK, TIMES-REPUBLICANOne of the finalists for Marshalltown fire chief resigned from his former city's fire department amid controversy earlier this year.
In March 2009, Watertown, Wis., Assistant Fire Chief Michael Quint sent a letter to Watertown's mayor and the president of the city council. In that letter, Quint said that he was making a formal complaint against Fire Chief Henry Butts.
"I believe Chief Butts with his comments to me in regards to termination on a weekly to almost daily basis has done nothing but create a hostile work environment for me, making working conditions virtually impossible," Quint wrote. "Since this constant barrage has started, I have found it nearly impossible to do my job without making errors due to the constant worrying of what or when he is going to make threats again or even carry it out."
Butts filed a list of charges against Quint Dec. 2, 2009, in which he accused his assistant fire chief of a number of violations, including failure to follow established protocols resulting in safety hazards, failure to complete obligations as training director, misrepresentations to cover up mistakes, and failing to respect the chain of command and confidentiality requirements of the department.
"Quint was a good employee for most of his career with the department. In the last year, however, AC Quint's performance has taken a drastic turn for the worse," the chief's complaint stated.
Quint said in his letter that Butts' language was abusive, a charge that Butts did not outrightly deny.
"Admittedly, some of these exchanges involved language that might be considered harsh, but that is not unusual in this or other firehouses," Butts said in his filing of allegations.
At the end of the filing, Butts recommended that Quint be removed from his position with the department.
In a response two days later, Quint accused the chief of misconduct.
"The nature of any fire service requires that all members of a department function as a harmonious, supportive company," Quint said in the filing through his attorneys. "Chief Butts has used demeaning, hostile, intimidating and nonprofessional language to Assistant Chief Quint, other management staff and members of the department."
Quint asked that the police and fire commission in Watertown schedule the complaint for an evidentiary hearing and suspend the chief with pay until the entire matter can be heard and a decision made.
Instead of doing that, the city and Quint reached an agreement in which Quint would resign and receive severance payments totaling $57,086 in January of this year.
Quint said the entire issue boiled down to a personality conflict on many different levels.
"There was a conflict in personalities, operational styles, managerial styles and other things," he said.
However, he said his conflicts with the chief did not permeate into other relationships at the department.
"I had the support of the union and had nine of them [union firefighters] testify for me when the police did their investigation," he said.
Nathan Stucky, human resources director for the city of Marshalltown, said the process will continue as planned.
"As for the allegations on Michael Quint, we are currently still in the selection process and Mr. Quint is still considered as a finalist," he said.
City Administrator Randy Wetmore will interview and select the candidate he finds most suitable, and then the city council will vote to approve.
If Acting Chief Steve Edwards is selected, his appointment will be effective immediately.
If Quint or the other candidate, Gerald Ezell, is selected, Stucky anticipated a start date no later than Sept. 1.
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Contact Ken Black at 641-753-6611 or kblack@timesrepublican.com
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Puppetmaster
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07-28-10 2:57 PM
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An Educational degree is the newest way corporations are practicing discrimination. It is getting to the point that you have to have a college degree to do anything. Since the educational system in this country has systematically failed across the board, is it any wonder our country goes abroad for tens of thousands of professional yearly? Why cant we hire anyone locally? No one qualifies!
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bertmers
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07-28-10 10:42 AM
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Back ground checks are not all that was looked at. What about education levels? It was ruled that the chief needed a bachelors degree or more to hold the office of chief. Do these candidates have that? You better check cause I smell something fishy here and its not the fish from Delhi lake. Just because he is employed by the town doesn't mean anything. Ask the FF's.
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gratefulgertie
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07-27-10 6:33 PM
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Rathbunseve, why on earth would we give it to one of our own? That only makes sense...we can't do that!
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rathbunseve
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07-27-10 2:54 PM
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I'm surprised this is the best the city can get for candidates from out of town. There are so many excellent qualified people within our own state.
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Aporetic
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07-27-10 11:54 AM
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You're assuming that Mr. Quint didn't disclose this to the search committee. Just because -you- didn't know about it, doesn't mean that they didn't.
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TEAPARTYER
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07-27-10 11:22 AM
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Put Ken Black in charge of backround checks. With a few well placed phone calls he found out volumes of information on the administrator candidates. WHY can' our city officials come up with the same information so we don't look like the keystone cops?
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DaleJr
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07-27-10 10:30 AM
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Background checks to the fullest should be fine for hiring purposes.
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AverageAmerican
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07-27-10 10:01 AM
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Public sector "servants" could learn a thing from business---that you serve at your employers, good will and that can be terminated for any reason at anytime. It would have saved Watertown $57,086, and I suspect Quint and Butt would have found a way to get "harmonious", or moved on.
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Aporetic
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07-27-10 9:05 AM
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Actually Mr. Deninger, for several years that law has been that employers cannot divulge the reason for an employee's termination. I would also imagine that the legal settlement had a non-disclosure clause whereby both sides were barred from discussing the incident or the terms of the settlement.
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MTowner
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07-27-10 8:41 AM
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The biggest change has been the ability to find information been made so much easier by Internet. Look at the guy from JBS Swifts who lied on his application. How many years did he work there before a national television show did him in.
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jimdeninger
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07-27-10 7:36 AM
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Once again I wonder what has happened to the background checks that we used to do on all major position candidates before choosing them as "finalists" Didn't this same embarrassing turn of events occur awhile back during our search for a new City Administrator? Has some law changed that says you don't ask and don't tell"? I doubt that....
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Puppetmaster
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07-27-10 1:52 AM
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A $57,086 payday for a personality conflict? Sign me up!!!
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