Diane Melendez
07-02-2007, 02:53 PM
I was surprised at the apparent ease with which Peyton pulled of the Kleman appointment. It was so completely apparent that this was another one of
Peyton's manipulations, completely engineered from the beginning to make the appointment of his choice without allowing anyone else to even have a chance to apply for the position. Circumventing all reasonable professional searches and interviewing of competent candidates. It turns out others were indeed watching and Peyton and his underhanded way of doing business has indeed created another firestorm.
The following was on letterhead and sent to the Mayor and members of the City Council:
Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters
351 24th Street West
Jacksonville, Florida 32203
DATE: June 23, 2007
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Adrian Johnson, President
Cell # 904-545-5631
jbofpresident@yahoo
RE: REQUEST TO TABLE THE CONFIRMATION OF THE INTERIM DIRECTOR AND RE-EXAMINE THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR ASSISTANT CHIEF
If confirmed as Director of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, does Dan Kleman have the minimum qualifications for Fire Chief? Does he have the command experience that the “Top Firefighter” should have to insure the safety of firefighters during a large scale fire, hazardous material or medical emergencies? The Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters (JBOF) insists that the answers to both of these questions are a resounding NO.
The City Ordinance addressing the qualifications of the Director/Fire Chief has been rewritten and reduced by Mayor Peyton and subsequently passed by the City Council to confirm an unqualified Interim Director and Assistant Fire Chief. We ask that each of you examine the qualifications of cities comparable to Jacksonville in size and population where the minimum qualifications include a four year college degree and command experience.
Why has the qualifications of Jacksonville’s Director/Fire Chief been drastically reduced to that of a two year degree and five years of administrative experience in Public Safety? Where does the knowledge of firefighting come into play? What city has a Fire Chief with no firefighting experience? Only Jacksonville! We believe that this has become a public safety issue.
Furthermore, Mayor Payton repaid his debt to the previous Local 122 Firefighter’s Union President in the same manner. He appointed Randy White to Deputy Director/Assistant Fire Chief (the number two position) and rewrote the City Ordinance to insure his confirmation. The minimum qualifications for Assistant Fire Chief in Jacksonville is zero education (not even a high school diploma or GED) and five years of administrative experience of firefighting or emergency medical or rescue personnel. That implies that a five year Fire Private has the qualification to become the next Assistant Fire Chief. This policy is absurd.
The City Ordinance states “The Deputy Director/Assistant Fire Chief shall act for and exercise the functions of the Director during absence or inability of the Director or in the event that the office of the Director is vacant”. We ask the question, what happens if Interim Director Dan Kleman is appointed to Director and he takes an out of town trip or is unavailable for any other reason? Based on education and/or experience, is it legal for Assistant Fire Chief Randy White to assume the duties as Director? Again the JBOF insist that the answer to this question is no.
If the City Ordinance isn’t amended, we could be depending on a person whose highest education is a high school diploma, has no fire, hazardous material or rescue command experience and was specifically named in the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission Report for termination. Is this the person that you want in charge of your department in the absence of the Interim Director in a time when homeland security is a must? Moreover, do you think that he will be able to manage a $160,000,000 budget, the safety of 1200 uniformed firefighters and 800,000 citizens over 840,000 square miles?
The following are examples of the requirements for Director/Fire Chief and Deputy Director/Assistant Fire Chief throughout the country:
1. Director/Fire Chief for Atlanta, GA. Include a Bachelors degree in Business/Public Administration, Fire Science or a related field; Master’s degree preferred
2. Director/Fire Chief for Kettering, OH include Bachelor’s degree in fire science/management, public administration or related discipline required, along with 10 years progressively responsible experience in fire-service management. Master’s degree and/or preferred advanced professional-development training at the National Fire Academy or similar certification
3. Director/Fire Chief for Lenexa, Kansas includes a Bachelor’s degree in a related field and fifteen (15) years Fire Service experience preferably in a municipal setting. A master’s degree in related field is preferred
4. Assistant Chief for Temple Terrace, Florida include Bachelor's degree in Fire Science, Emergency Medical Services, Public Administration, or Business. Also must be the rank of Captain or higher
The Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters believes that these appointments have become a public safety issue; therefore, we ask the City Council to table the confirmation of Interim Director Dan Kleman and take a second look at the possibly illegal appointment of the Randy White to the Assistant Chief position. If it is determined that either are not qualified for there positions, we ask that you urge Mayor Peyton to remove both from there respective positions; followed by a nationwide search for persons that have the appropriate education, training and experience necessary to run a large, progressive fire department as was recommended in the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission Report.
Endorsed by:
Jacksonville Leadership Coalition
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
National Association of Advancement of Colored People
Baptist Ministers Conference
Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
Peyton's manipulations, completely engineered from the beginning to make the appointment of his choice without allowing anyone else to even have a chance to apply for the position. Circumventing all reasonable professional searches and interviewing of competent candidates. It turns out others were indeed watching and Peyton and his underhanded way of doing business has indeed created another firestorm.
The following was on letterhead and sent to the Mayor and members of the City Council:
Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters
351 24th Street West
Jacksonville, Florida 32203
DATE: June 23, 2007
TO: City Council Members
FROM: Adrian Johnson, President
Cell # 904-545-5631
jbofpresident@yahoo
RE: REQUEST TO TABLE THE CONFIRMATION OF THE INTERIM DIRECTOR AND RE-EXAMINE THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR ASSISTANT CHIEF
If confirmed as Director of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, does Dan Kleman have the minimum qualifications for Fire Chief? Does he have the command experience that the “Top Firefighter” should have to insure the safety of firefighters during a large scale fire, hazardous material or medical emergencies? The Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters (JBOF) insists that the answers to both of these questions are a resounding NO.
The City Ordinance addressing the qualifications of the Director/Fire Chief has been rewritten and reduced by Mayor Peyton and subsequently passed by the City Council to confirm an unqualified Interim Director and Assistant Fire Chief. We ask that each of you examine the qualifications of cities comparable to Jacksonville in size and population where the minimum qualifications include a four year college degree and command experience.
Why has the qualifications of Jacksonville’s Director/Fire Chief been drastically reduced to that of a two year degree and five years of administrative experience in Public Safety? Where does the knowledge of firefighting come into play? What city has a Fire Chief with no firefighting experience? Only Jacksonville! We believe that this has become a public safety issue.
Furthermore, Mayor Payton repaid his debt to the previous Local 122 Firefighter’s Union President in the same manner. He appointed Randy White to Deputy Director/Assistant Fire Chief (the number two position) and rewrote the City Ordinance to insure his confirmation. The minimum qualifications for Assistant Fire Chief in Jacksonville is zero education (not even a high school diploma or GED) and five years of administrative experience of firefighting or emergency medical or rescue personnel. That implies that a five year Fire Private has the qualification to become the next Assistant Fire Chief. This policy is absurd.
The City Ordinance states “The Deputy Director/Assistant Fire Chief shall act for and exercise the functions of the Director during absence or inability of the Director or in the event that the office of the Director is vacant”. We ask the question, what happens if Interim Director Dan Kleman is appointed to Director and he takes an out of town trip or is unavailable for any other reason? Based on education and/or experience, is it legal for Assistant Fire Chief Randy White to assume the duties as Director? Again the JBOF insist that the answer to this question is no.
If the City Ordinance isn’t amended, we could be depending on a person whose highest education is a high school diploma, has no fire, hazardous material or rescue command experience and was specifically named in the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission Report for termination. Is this the person that you want in charge of your department in the absence of the Interim Director in a time when homeland security is a must? Moreover, do you think that he will be able to manage a $160,000,000 budget, the safety of 1200 uniformed firefighters and 800,000 citizens over 840,000 square miles?
The following are examples of the requirements for Director/Fire Chief and Deputy Director/Assistant Fire Chief throughout the country:
1. Director/Fire Chief for Atlanta, GA. Include a Bachelors degree in Business/Public Administration, Fire Science or a related field; Master’s degree preferred
2. Director/Fire Chief for Kettering, OH include Bachelor’s degree in fire science/management, public administration or related discipline required, along with 10 years progressively responsible experience in fire-service management. Master’s degree and/or preferred advanced professional-development training at the National Fire Academy or similar certification
3. Director/Fire Chief for Lenexa, Kansas includes a Bachelor’s degree in a related field and fifteen (15) years Fire Service experience preferably in a municipal setting. A master’s degree in related field is preferred
4. Assistant Chief for Temple Terrace, Florida include Bachelor's degree in Fire Science, Emergency Medical Services, Public Administration, or Business. Also must be the rank of Captain or higher
The Jacksonville Brotherhood of Firefighters believes that these appointments have become a public safety issue; therefore, we ask the City Council to table the confirmation of Interim Director Dan Kleman and take a second look at the possibly illegal appointment of the Randy White to the Assistant Chief position. If it is determined that either are not qualified for there positions, we ask that you urge Mayor Peyton to remove both from there respective positions; followed by a nationwide search for persons that have the appropriate education, training and experience necessary to run a large, progressive fire department as was recommended in the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission Report.
Endorsed by:
Jacksonville Leadership Coalition
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
National Association of Advancement of Colored People
Baptist Ministers Conference
Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance