CITY OF KENNER OFFICE OF THE MAYOR E. ZAHN October 30) 2017 Kenner, LA 7110.55 Dam ClliufHellmeis: As yor. are aware, by lerie.s dried Sepier..ber Sepierulrcr October and October 2017, advised you rluu il.e ciiy oi Kenner an investigation irrio your collililcl as clueror ilre Kenrre. Fire Deparirneru, A Pl'e-Dlsciplillaly Hearing was held Oc|obcl 20, 2017, ai w1.ic1. rirne you and your were p.ovided ilifnllumioll arnl il.e epponunuy to explain your 'I'he illvosligafioll .euealed ilre rollowi. g. 1) your refusal no follow in direci order as ii reinios io ll.e lririrrg or Willilun Kneppcl You were asked for illfulnlalioll on Fcblualy 15, 2017 (IS il relates Io ofnew filefigllterar On March 29, 2017, the CAD, on .uy belralr again reqnesied ilre lisi m" applicruus wlro qualified fur ilre am. level uremic. However, you refused io provide (his 0.. March so 2017 ilrc inronuniior. was requesled again. Specifically, you refused 10 provide 11.: r'nronunliou sliding "i old is llie authorin in H): city of as 11195011th in Homc Rule Section 42]. he Cllicfix chalgul will. inc .espousilsiliiy or and .enninaiing all omeer-s and employees of il.e Firc subjeei io die provisions smic law and lliis Cllailcl'." 0.. April 4, 2017 you were .rer |0 l.ire Mr. Koeppel due io your failure .o \vilh il.e rcrurcsi appoiniing a..il.or-iiy lo providc il.e legaldillg .1.e npplierrnis. as sinied in ll.e April 4, 2017 Fire Deparlinerri was $51,180.00 over budget and 1|.erefore ilueie were no fluids in d.e budgei ro pay ilre snla.y ofa new proposed employee Your lefllsal lo coruply my lawlru order- as your appoinlillg rruilroriry io ilro lisi is vinlnlioll of RS. 332500 (1). (2), (4), (14), und Kenrrer- Fire Depanruern Rules Pl'ooedulcs, and Policies>> including ir.s..l.ordir.aiior., work performance, and failule ro perrorru defirrcd job dudes, wlriol. warmrri appropriale disciplinary including renninaiiarr. 2) Disc Based upon il.e lisi orapplicanis received by my noiwiil.siaudir.g your you did 1101 oil]! and/or seveml rurnlirred lilillmity npplionnrs lor iruerviews. As you are aware, rue ciiy released from a consent deereo lesullillg alleged .1iseriruinaio.y1 prneriees. you were sued in yarn- capauiiy as Fire Chief by Tanya for iliscrinlillaloly llil'illg Despiie knowledge of mo collseln deeree and pasi in a suir, your minno to lure. view qualified ruinoriiy npplioarns prejudices rlre cm Hllu. . BOULEVARD . BUILDING B,Sul'm 200 . mulswin 70062 - EMAIL: Your failure to appreciate the responsibilities associated witlr equal and the adverse impact on minorities is a violation of La. R.S. 33:2500 (2), (3), (4), and Kcnner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, including insubordination, unsatisfactory work performance,conduct unbecoming of a member of the Fire Department, and failure to perform de?ned job duties, which warrant appropriate disciplinary action, irrelrrding termination. 3) Poor, unorderly, unorganized recordkeeping, of?ce mismanagement Upon entering your of?ce in connection with the investigation into your extraordinary amounts of papers were haplrazardly stacked in disarray, including items that required your response or attention. during the course of the investigation, significant amounts of unopened and Opened postmarked mail (not responded to) including the following set forth below were Unopened mail includes: 39 unopened letters including a) Two items of correspondence from Philips Pipeline Critical Emergency Response - Action Plan Inside; b) Kinder Morgan Important Pipeline Safety Information Enclosed; c) Enbridge Important Safety Information Enclosed; and d) Ten items of correspondence from the National Fire Protection Association. Additionally, 81 opened letters of which it appears that no action was taken including items relating to a) evaluation results; b) Public Records Requests; 0) National Fire Protection Association survey; d) Correspondence from Ochsner regarding a patient with HeartMate 11. Moreover you admit that the state of your of?ce evidences poor, unorderly, and unorganized reeordkeepirrg. For example, the fixed asset inventory you were required to complete was lost and had to be resubmitted by the Acting Chief. Furthermore, your of?ce contained notifications of unpaid repair bills regarding various ?re trucks. It is a fact that bills from Siddons-Martin have been overdue since early 2016. If any bills are unpaid and you received notice of srrelr, you are required to take action. You are ultimately responsible to ensure the orderly administration of your Department. Your of?ce also contained a petty cash box containing nrorc than $1,000 of unaccounted cash. Regardless of whether you knew of the policy prohibiting than $200 in petty cash, as the Department head you are required to be apprised of City policy. Additionally, it shows poor judgment on your part to have such a large arnorurt of cash on hand without a proper accounting. Additionally, it has come to our attention that fire station logs were not properly maintained. As Chief, it is your responsibility to ensure the station logs are maintained by your subordinate employees. Further, in connection with securing records, we discovered that your City computer was utilized for personal use in violation of City policy. Registry cleaning software was located in your of?ce and upon information and belief was utilized on a City computer without authorization or explanation. Additionally, it has been discovered that anti-tracking software was installed on your desktop computer, presumably in an effortto shield your personal use of City owned systems in violation of City policy. As the Chief of the Kenncr Fire Department, you are expected to set an example for all fire?ghters. The state of your of?ce and the extraordinary amounts of paper, mail (dating back nearly 10 years), and lack of as it relates to the administration of the department is unacceptable and a direct violation of La. R.S. 33:2500 (2), (3), (4), l4), and Kenner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, irrelrrdirrg irrsubordirration, unsatis?rctory work performance, conduct unbeconriug of a member of the Fire Department, and failure to perform de?ned job duties, which warrant appropriate disciplinary action, including termination. 4) The failure to create and/or disseminate Department policies Two consecutive Mayors have deemed the operations manual of the Kenner Fire Department de?cient. You were directed to update and implement policies in your Department. Since your employment in 2007, it is evident you have engaged in a pattern and practice of failing to establish and maintain an up-to-date, comprehensive operations manual for the Kenner Fire Department. Due to your inaction, City resources were diverted and the Director of Emergency Management was directed to assist you in this endeavor. Nevertheless, you failed to participate in any meaningful way and implement policies as directed. As the Chief of the Kenner Fire Department, you are expected to implement policies and ensure all Department employees are apprised of said policies. However, your actions as it relates to the Kenner Fire Department operations manual are violations of La. R.S. 332500 (1), (2), (3), (4), and Kenner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, including irrsubordirratiorr, unsatisfactory work performance, unbecoming of a member of the Fire Department, and failure to perform de?ned job duties, which warrant appropriate disciplinary action, including termination. 5) Budget nrisrnanagcrnerrt including nrarripulatiorr of budget ruunlrers/tinancial information presented to the Council and the failure to follow instructions regarding applications for federal grants aml funding You have been aware for years of budgetary issues in your Department. For instance, the Department under your direction routinely exceeds its overtime budget. Further, there were questionable procurement practices and expenditures for ?re trucks. Additionally, your representations to the Council regarding your budget appear inaccurate and not based on actual expenses incurred by your Department. Moreover, there is evidence that you failed to use the appropriate budget line itenrs for purchases, thereby diminishing the ?rnds for one line item, while maintaining a false balance in the other. These examples illustrate either your disregard for the budget process and/or your failure to properly budget for your Department. Additionally, my Administration instructed you to apply for a needed SAFER grant. hereinafter, you stated to the Council that you would apply for the SAFER grant yet failed to do so. Further, you have made inaccurate representations concerning the Department?s PIAL status. As the Chief of the Kenner Fire Department, you are expected to be a prudent adnrinistrator of public funds and participate in a meaningful way in the budget process. However, your actions as it relates to the Kenner Fire Department budget are violations of La. R.S. 3322500 (1), (2), (3), (4), and Kenner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, including insubordination, unsatisfactory work performance, conduct unbecoming of a member of the Fire Department, and failure to perform defined job duties, which warrant appropriatedisciplinary action, including termination. 6) Careless operation of a Kenner Fire Department vessel During the Pie-Disciplinary Hearing, you admitted to being involved in an incident in the Pearl River but failed to ensure drug tests were administered as per policy. This departmental policy violation appears to be a pattern as you were informed of additional incidences that required drug testing; upon information and belief, you failed to ensure that the appropriate tests were administered. As the Chief of the Kenner Fire Department, you are expected to set an example for all Department employees, ensure compliance with all Department Rule and Regulations, and seek appropriate discipline for violations of said policies. However, your actions as it relates to use of the Kenner Fire Department Fire vessel are violations of La. R.S. 33:2500 (2), (3), (4), and Kenner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, including insubordinatiorr, unsatis?rctory work performance, conduct unbecoming of a of the Fire Department, and failure to perform defined job duties, which warrant apprOpriate disciplinary action, including termination. 7) Distribution ofunsafe gear In connection with investigation into your conduct, members of the Department informed us that you issued tagged out bunker gear. You did not replace the bunker gear until a member of the Department informed you that they would not respond to calls with expired gear. As Chief you have a responsibility to ensure all gear is safe and ?t for ?refighter use. However, your actions as it relates to distribution of unsafe bunker gear are violations of La. R.S. 33:2500 (2), (3), l4), and Kenner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, including insubordination, unsatisfactory work performance, conduct unbecoming of a member of the Fire Department, and failure to perform de?nedjob duties, which warrant appropriate disciplinary action, including termination. 8) Lack of oversight, discipline, and regulation of ?re employees Your lack of oversight has been an on-going issue that was reported during the investigation. For instance, witnesses will testify that you failed to discipline enrployees notwithstanding their violation of numerous Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies. This included allowing employees to disrespect you in front of others without reporting the incident or disciplining the enrployee. Further, employees have reported that you failed to address personnel issues, enforce policies, and address safety concerns that were brought to your attention. Your general lack of corrnnurrication with staff is also of concern and employees will testify that you rarely if ever have never conducted staff meetings. In addition, witnesses will testify that you have made inappropriate comments and threats of physical violence against me. Such is illustrative of your abject insubordination that personifies your undisciplined leadership. As Chief of the Kenner Fire Department, you are expected to set an example for all ?re?ghters and act as a leader of the Department. Additionally, you are required to enforce the Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, address personnel matters, discipline employees when necessary, and address safety concerns. However, you have failed to fulfill your obligations and your actions as it relates to oversight, discipline, and regulation of the Department and its employees are violations of La. R.S. 332500 (1), (2), (3), (4), and Kenner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies, including irrsubordirration, unsatisfactory work performance, conduct unbecoming of a member of the Fire Department, and failure to perform de?ned job duties, which warrant appropriate disciplinary action, including termination. By your own actions and taking all relevant factors and information into consideration, I hereby ?nd that you have violated the following rules, regulations and/or standards of service: 0 La. R.S. 3322500 (I), (2), (3), (4), and and 0 Kenner Fire Department Rules, Regulations, Procedures, and Policies regarding insubordination, unsatisfactory work performance, conduct unbecoming of a member of the Fire Department, and failure to perform defined job duties. Violations of the above are serious infractions that warrant appropriate disciplinary action. As a result of your actions as detailed above, as your appointing authority, I have made the decision to terminate your employment with the Kenner Fire Department effective October 30, 2017. Pursuant to the Rules for Kenner Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service, you have the right to appeal this action to the Civil Service Board. If you elect to file an appeal, you must do so in writing within ?fteen days following the action against you. Please consult the Rules for Kcnner Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service for additional information regarding the appeal process. Sincerely, Mayor cc: Personnel Fire Civil Service City Attorney?s Of?ce Galen S. Brown I, John I-Ie/lwmedge that I have received the attached correspondence on October 30, 2017. lehr Helh?ners