Jackson Free Press

A battle between Mayor Frank Melton and five members of the Jackson Fire Department ended in a handshake last Friday. Local 87 union President Brandon Falcon announced that he, along with Capts. Sidney Johnson, Patrick Armon, Reuben Ray and Lt. Vernon Gee could go back to work Sunday after being put on paid suspension for speaking to the media regarding staff shortages in the fire department.

"(Melton) made us all feel good about being firemen. He said, 'Hey, you're good firemen. You're back at work,'" Falcon told reporters. "My wife will be extremely pleased. ... We've been steady in our aim and solid in our group effort, and we're resolved to get our (services) to the citizen. The mayor has expressed his desire to do that and has given us his blessing."

Falcon said he and the other four suspended employees met with the mayor that afternoon at the police academy, and Melton about-faced on his support for the suspensions. Last week, Melton told the JFP he was considering firing the firefighters.

Firefighters have been coming to the Jackson Free Press with complaints since January, but complaints multiplied in February, after Melton demanded that all city departments, except the police department, cut 5 percent of their budgets. Interim Fire Chief Todd Chandler did away with overtime in February, but firefighters complained that JFD is short 75 firefighters and that overtime work was the only way to fill the holes. Pumper and ladder trucks ran short of the recommended number of crew members. The fighting five also complained of low morale, especially now that promotions within the department are frozen.

Firefighters made their complaints to City Council and even presented a petition signed by almost one-third of the department, giving Chandler a vote of no confidence. Those complaints likely dashed any chance that Chandler would be confirmed by the council, though Melton first withdrew Chandler's nomination, for lack of support, in October 2005.

The mayor told The Clarion-Ledger that he would not allow splinter groups within city government to undermine his choice of Chandler for chief.

"Todd Chandler will be fire chief as long as I am mayor," Melton said.

The fire department's actions, and Melton's wavering reaction, drew fire.

"We were very concerned about the possibility of a First Amendment violation," said Mississippi ACLU Executive Director Nsombi Lambright. "We were still researching. It was a little too early to tell if the ACLU would have stepped in, but we were monitoring it, and we were planning to participate."

Falcon said the International Association of Fire Fighters was ready to pay his legal expenses.

Deputy City Attorney Pieter Teeuwissen said attorneys for the firefighters would have framed the potential court battle as a First Amendment fight, which easily could have gone badly for the city.

"Constitutional questions, by their very nature, are complex litigation. Stakes are generally high, and if a government entity loses the court fight, it faces having to pay attorney fees and expenses, in addition to any award," Teeuwissen said.

City Council planned a special meeting to address the issue Friday, but were relieved to find the meeting unnecessary by the time it started.

"We congratulate the mayor for seeing the light, and we want you to go back to work and serve us well," said Ward 2 Councilman Leslie McLemore.

Grievances remain, however. The firefighters' reinstatement is only the end of the latest battle, and the original issues that drove firefighters to go to the press in the first place, such as short staffing and equipment shortages, remain.

"We still have the same issues facing the department that we had before," warned Johnson. "We have the staff shortages and other problems that we had before, and that still needs to be addressed."

Falcon said he was surprised when Melton told him Friday that he had no knowledge of the problems staff shortages were causing at the JFD until news of the suspensions flared up in the press last week.

"He said he didn't know about the staff shortages until last week, when all this blew up. I didn't say this, but I was thinking it: Why didn't your interim fire chief tell you?"

Assistant Fire Chief Tony Davis, who issued the letter suspending the five, resigned Thursday, telling The Clarion-Ledger that his resignation had been planned a year in advance. "I'm going out with a bang," he said.

Davis fought the city during the administration of Harvey Johnson, claiming he had not been paid for time worked. The city agreed, in a sealed decision, to pay him for the hours he claimed to have toiled, but only after he agreed to retire in April 2005.

There was a 90-day window (ending in June 2005) for Davis to sign the agreement, but Davis didn't sign it. The agreement between the city and Davis was never consummated and was still in dispute when Melton became mayor that July, so Melton brought Davis back on, according to a city source.

Previous Comments

ID

66755

Comment

Does our City Council have any sense of oversight? I mean shouldn't they follow up on things like Mr. Davis' lawsuit and whether he signed the agreement that I am sure they knew about? Four of the 7 council members were there long before Melton. How can they let this stuff happen? And if it is not the fault of the City Council for not getting involved earlier, does the Davis issue and the interim Chief not expose the sheer incompetence of the Mayors administration? But, I guess if I am worried about my safety and question the Mayor about the problems in the Fire Department then I am "being negative" about Jackson!?! That's this weeks logic isn't it?

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-23T18:42:07-06:00

ID

66756

Comment

No pikersam, we are all a bunch of d/a's up there and are clueless as to what is REALLY going on. "Get involved earlier"....Good God...."sense of oversite"...Good God..."follow up on his lawsuit"....Oh "that" lawsuit...the one "sealed" by federal edict....oh "that" one...oh sure...let's all get together and "discuss" it....especially from the sidelines and in the press! Two weeks from today....exactly....from today...if you really want to know the story, call me....or any of the firefighters involved with our [the council's] stupidity in all of this....good God!

Author

Ben Allen

Date

2006-08-23T20:37:11-06:00

ID

66757

Comment

Ben, I understand your frustration, but I must say that from the outside looking in, it looks like y'all have allowed this fire chief to sit there for a year unconfirmed. Then all this happened. Even though I realize the public doesn't know everything, it doesn't look good. One reason that the damn public-records nightmare that is the city needs to get fixed, and fast. The public needs to feel as if there are people down there looking out for our interests. Otherwise, just got your message. Let's talk Thursday.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-08-23T20:43:12-06:00

ID

66758

Comment

I find it hard to believe when Tony got the position it did not trigger the memory of any one on the council about the law suit. If there was controversity was FM informed. Did anyone tell him maybe he should look into Chandler and Davis's suing the city and rethink hiring someone who has done this to the 2 top positions in the JFD? Where are the thinking caps of the council??? Come on council lead don't follow wrong doings. Ben I am really surprised at you. I thought u were the sane one.

Author

jada

Date

2006-08-23T21:53:47-06:00

ID

66759

Comment

Gee, I never called you guys d/a's, clueless, nor did I say y'all were incompetent. I leave that distinction for the mayor and his staff. I'm excited about your enthusiasm for Jackson's future. The economic projects you speak of sound great! Am I disappointed that it "appears" the City Council only got involved with this after Melton allowed it to get this far - especially in the media? Yes. So, after one year we still have an interim chief that y'all probably wouldn't confirm if the Mayor put him up for nomination, and you get upset that a citizen questions whether you should have gotten involved earlier? You guys ratified the budget; and then we have to cut the budgets of our first responders mid-year! Where did our money go? Where were you guys when the mayor turned down the $200,000 services grant from UMC? How much is it costing us to run the Melton posse night after night? What do we have to show for it? A spike in crime and a crime summit! Especially in Ward 1! The terms of Mr. Davis' lawsuit may have been "sealed?" However, the media somehow found out what Mr. Davis settled on, and what "should" have happened. That's what we know. Instead the public is left to think *again* that Mayor Melton is rewarding a supporter, damned the law or the direction of the judge. Then a year later you guys are finally involved after a lot of bad press, hurt feelings of various firemen, and another public blunder by the Mayor and one of his appointees, Chandler. Perception is reality for us citizens. You could have tried to explain what was going on per my post and better educated us if the media has painted a false picture of the JFD situation. If you want the public to be better informed then you need push to get us better informed.

Author

pikersam

Date

2006-08-23T22:15:16-06:00

ID

66760

Comment

(Two weeks from today....exactly....from today...if you really want to know the story, call me....or any of the firefighters involved) -Ben Allen responding to pikersam. Ben, I'm going against the manner in which I usually post, and stating that I am going to give you and the city council the time you've asked for! (Reading between the lines) - I'm going to assume, especially as you have given yourself a time-line, that there are other workings in the process which simply cannot be disclosed. Prior to the JFD-5 I wouldn't have been willing to 'give this time', but I did see an over-whelming support for these firefighters coming from the City Council. This has, and is restoring my faith in the council's position. In light of the fact that it was potentially disasterous for the city financially should the JFD-5 take their battle within the legal forum, WE as citizens, still saw the council giving their support to the 5! That says a lot to me about the honor of the council as individuals and as a group. So, Ben - you have your two weeks, and I wish you and the council God speed in doing what is on your agenda. The issues facing these firefighters have not changed, and Chandler is still in a position he cannot possibly fulfill adequately - so carry on Ben.....carry on!

Author

Katie D

Date

2006-08-24T07:31:13-06:00