By SALINA POST
The Salina City Commission is scheduled to consider a resolution concerning the Salina Fire Department during its meeting Monday.
About the meeting
Study sessions and city commission meetings will take place in–person in room 107 of the City-County Building, 300 West Ash Street, and via Zoom until further notice. Meetings also can be viewed at the City of Salina YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/cityofSalinaKansas.
To participate via Zoom, citizens will need to use the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89275984587.
The meeting also can be accessed by phone at 1-346-248-7799. Enter Meeting ID:892 7598 4587 when prompted.
If citizens wish to speak, either during the public forum or when the mayor requests public comment on an item, citizens attending via Zoom must raise their hands so that the meeting host can allow them to speak. Those who attend the in-person meeting will have the opportunity to speak at the podium.
Citizens also can send written comments or questions to city commissioners via email at [email protected].
In order for the commissioners to have an opportunity to review comments in advance of the meeting, please email your comments or questions by 5 p.m. the Sunday prior to the Monday meetings.
Study session
Commissioners are scheduled to begin with a study session at 3 p.m. The topic of the study session will be an infill housing discussion. To view the study session packet (25 pages), click here.
Regular meeting
The regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. A time for public comment is scheduled near the beginning of the meeting.
Commissioners are scheduled to consider a resolution "addressing conclusions reached and intended next steps to further address the issues and concerns highlighted by review of the use of 'Admin' leave time by exempt Salina Fire Department personnel," according to information in the commission meeting packet.
In August, KWCH's Factfinder 12 revealed an investigation by the city into allegations of leave time fraud within the Salina Fire Department, based mainly on documents and statements provided by former Salina Fire Captain Tim LePage. In response to that report, the City of Salina released a statement acknowledging that it was aware of the allegations made in the KWCH report and that a forensics accounting report about the fire department issue would be released at the Aug. 16 city commission meeting.
That audit of department leave time found that some Chiefs of Staff took time off without applying it to vacation, instead using admin leave time.
At their meeting on Dec. 6, commissioners heard an update from City Manager Mike Schrage concerning the fire department leave time issue. Schrage wouldn't say that the matter was time card fraud, instead citing Salina Fire Department personnel's adherance to leave time guidance provided in a 2007 memo from then Fire Chief Larry Mullikin.
The update information in the Dec. 6 commission meeting packet, which, as of Sunday night was no longer available on the city's website, stated that the forensic audit company's report has been amended because, "over the course of the review and hearings, additional information and details were noted necessitating numeric changes to some of BKD's estimates." A revised report from BKD, the company that conducted the forensics audit of Salina Fire Department leave time, also was no longer available on the city's website as of Sunday.
Schrage noted in his written update that BKD's "original estimate of the value of admin time taken was $197,848.24 and it has been revised to $145,271.14 and their estimate of the value of vacation time bought back of $75,373.73 has been revised to $70,223.22."
Additionally, in the written portion of the update, Schrage wrote, "It should be noted, that the time period reviewed spans 7 years and that staff referenced in the report, may not have been employed when the investigation was conducted, may not have been employed at the time that the report was presented, or they may have resigned or retired while this process was conducted. It is not accurate or appropriate to assume that references to employees no longer being employed by the City are an indication that they were terminated for wrongdoing. Further, as indicated in the report, it is not appropriate to assume that any wrongdoing has occurred simply based upon an individual's rank or position."
Following Schrage's verbal update on Dec. 6, commissioners met in the following two executive sessions, however, no action was reported after the sessions concluded.
●To discuss the subject of matters relating to and/or arising from the Salina Fire Department admin time matter which affect the privacy interests of non-elected personnel based upon the need to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel.
●To discuss with special legal counsel the subject of legal considerations relating to and/or arising from the Salina Fire Department admin time matter based upon the need for consultation with an attorney for the public body which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship.
The most recent chief speaks
During the Dec. 6 commission meeting, Kevin Royse, who resigned as Salina Fire Chief in November, after he was placed on administrative leave, spoke to commissioners during the public comment portion of fire department admin time update. Royce's comments are as follows.
READ: Royse resigns; Schrage to provide fire dept. matter update Dec. 6
My recent resignation as fire chief could, to some, appear as a presumption of guilt in this whole matter. Let me tell you, that's not the case. Instead, I chose to resign rather than go through the personnel hearing with the city manager, due to the fact that I had lost the trust and faith of my command staff. It takes years to build trust, minutes to lose it.
On Aug. 17, 2020 (editor's note: It was 2021), the day after the BKD report disclosed that I had attended a meeting in February 2020 with city administration and was told by the city that the city was looking into fire department admin time usage but was told not to share this with the command staff, all credibility and trust I had with my command staff was gone as soon as they found this out.
Fire service trust is essential to perform our mission. I will never understand the city's administration's decision to put me in this most terrible and appaling position. I would never do this to another city employee, and I find it hard to believe an organization would do this to a department head.
Today's city manager's report indicates he found no time card fraud and that the chiefs of staff were simply following an executive leave policy in place long before I arrived. They had assumed it had been approved by the city and was permissible. I've always maintained this from day one. In fact, on Sept. 22 of this year, I sent a memo to the deputy city manager and HR director indicating these exact same facts, and requested that all personnel actions cease against the chiefs of staff. I was met with no reply. Instead, I encountered what I felt to be a guilty-until-proven-innocent mentality.
I was accused of being too loyal to my chiefs of staff, and yes, I was. They are passionate and committed employees. I knew they'd done nothing wrong, yet alone anything illegal, despite what the media and a discontented ex-employee wanted everyone to believe.
I was also accused of letting my chiefs of staff influence my decisions. That I asked too much for their input before I make decisions. The fire service operates as a team. My leadership style is to push decisions and authority down to the lowest levels like any good supervisor should do. I am not a micromanager.
I prefer to look forward rather than back, and we've touched on a couple of things. There's still two very important issues that have not been resolved or addressed, and hopefully they will be. And they are related. The first is overall department staffing levels. I've given this body the performance analysis of the fire department for the past five years, and every single time I include a slide that indicates the same staffing levels from 2004 exist today, despite a 45 percent call volume increase.
I bring this up because this entire admin time issue was supposedly discovered during an examination of fire department overtime by the city. Overtime is a given in the fire service, due to the minimum staffing needed to maintain levels of service this body wishes to provide for the community. You can only manage overtime, never eliminate it in the fire service. It's a very simple equation. You either reduce overtime by adding staffing or you increase overtime by not adding staffing. Without adequate staffing, you cannot develop your lower-level supervisors to become battalion chiefs.
On Sept. 13 of this year, I sent the city manager information and recommendations on how to address this important issue. I spoke with several Kansas fire departments, and each indicated they had processes in place. They may not have been called "admin time," but rather "flex time," "comp time," "executive leave," they all serve the same purpose. Some departments even utilize stipends to address the 24-hour exempt employee issue. These policies are to compensate their 24-hour exempt employees for work done on their non-duty days. The only difference was that these cities realized there was a problem and created a workable solution to fix it. Many utilized this exact same policy that we were utilizing since 2007.
Again, I did not receive any response.
Why is this important? Because last month, the department sent a letter of interest to each qualified fire captain to participate in a battalion chief promotional process. Not one captain responded. None were interested in moving from an hourly employee to an exempt employee until this issue is resolved by the city. Some even cited that after seeing how the city had treated the chiefs of staff, they weren't interested in the position any more.
You cannot operate a fire department without battalion chiefs. This needs to be changed or amended immediately. It's an easy fix that seems other cities have figured out a way to do it.
I've enjoyed working with the exceptional firefighters and paramedics of this fire department as their fire chief. My mission was to give them the necessary equipment training to do their jobs safely and professionally and to provide a level of service to this community that's bar none. They continue to do so each and every day.
After a 35-year fire service career, I didn't expect it to end over an issue that should have been handled in what I feel is a more appropriate and transparent manner. My hope is that these remaining issues are taken seriously by city administration. The members of this department deserve it. Thank you for your time.
The proposed resolution
The resolution commissioners are scheduled to consider Monday includes the following language that reinforces city administration's belief that exempt fire department personnel were following guidance from the 2007 memo when using admin leave time and were not commiting time card fraud.
"Through the interviews of SFD personnel conducted by the forensic accounting investigator, it was revealed that in 2007 the Fire Chief at that time prepared and circulated a memorandum (1) referencing the City's Executive Leave Policy, (2) providing his interpretation of that policy, and (3) providing guidance to his staff on how he intended to administer leave time for SFD employees classified as 'exempt' under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including instructions to his chiefs of staff regarding how to request and utilize executive leave."
The proposed resolution continues, "As a result of the guidance memorandum provided by the Fire Chief in 2007, the SFD has been administering and granting a modified version of executive leave as implemented by the Fire Chief in recognition of additional hours worked by SFD exempt employees, commonly referred to as 'admin leave.' The Fire Chief in 2007 indicated in his interview by the forensic accounting investigator that he thought the City's Executive Leave policy granted city department heads with sufficient authority to proceed as he did and acknowledged that he did so without consulting or informing the City Manager's Office or the Human Resources Department. Since its initiation, the internal SFD guidance has not been formalized or clarified further beyond the 2007 memorandum."
The proposed resolution further notes, "While the City's Executive Leave Policy neither directly addressed nor contemplated the particular circumstances upon which the Fire Chief initiated the internal SFD guidance in 2007, the City Manager's consideration of all available relevant information has led to his conclusion that SFD exempt employees' use of 'admin leave' as a form of leave was based upon written guidance provided by the Fire Chief in the 2007 memorandum as well as the on-going administration and oversight of SFD supervisors."
The proposed resolution, if adopted, would instruct city staff "to review staffing levels, work assignments, position descriptions, employee classifications, and leave policies of the Salina Fire Department as described above with the intent of providing an assessment and returning a report and recommendation to the Governing Body at or prior to its regular meeting on February 28, 2022."
Other items on the Salina City Commission agenda for Monday include the following.
●Conduct a public hearing for the 2021 amended budget
●Consider authorizing the city manager to sign an agreement with SCS Engineers for professional engineering services for the Salina Municipal Solid Waste Landfill
●Consider authorizing the city manager to execute specialty contractor agreements with Plains Environmental Services, Inc. and GSI Engineering, LLC for Remedial Design Phase 2 Drilling Support at the former Schilling Air Force Base site.
●Consider approving a resolution amending fees in the 2022 Comprehensive Fee Schedule related to Solid Waste and Sanitation and establishing Water and Wastewater rates effective Jan. 1, 2022.
●Consider approving an ordinance levying Salina Business Improvement District No. 1 service fees for 2022.
●Consider approving Ordinance No. 21-11092, on second reading, changing the zoning classification of Artistic Nails and Spa from R-1 (Single-Family Residential) to C-3 (Shopping Center) district.
●Consider approving a resolution expressing support of the Governing Body of the City of Salina for the redevelopment of Memorial Hall into an Esports Arena and multipurpose facility.
●Consider authorizing the purchase of electrical equipment for the Salina Police Department facility and to conduct a competitive bid process for installation of the equipment and retrofit lights to LED in an amount not to exceed $94,195.
●Consider a construction bid award for City Project No. 21028 for water, sanitary sewer, street, and drainage improvements in Cedar Ridge Addition Phase 2 to T&R Construction of Salina in the amount of $616,945.49 with a 5% construction contingency for a total project authorization not to exceed $647,792.76 and authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with T&R Construction upon fulfillment of all prerequisites under the bid documents.
Additionally, commissioners are scheduled to meet in the following two executive sessions.
●To discuss the subject of potential acquisition of specific real estate, the identification of which would be contrary to the public interest, based upon the need for preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property.
●To discuss the subject of the city manager’s annual performance evaluation based upon the need to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel.
To see the full Salina City Commission meeting packet for Monday (227 pages), click here.