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Council exonerates Cox |
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
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By Matt Burks
Courier Staff After a 50-day investigation, Bryant Fire Chief Randy Cox was cleared of all allegations brought against him during an emergency meeting by the Bryant City Council on Wednesday night.
Mayor Larry Mitchell and six alderman said in a prepared statement that the investigation is completed, but several firefighters said they still stand behind their March 13 unanimous vote of no confidence in Cox.
“Randy Cox is the fire chief of Bryant and has our full support in his management of fire department operations,” Mitchell said in the announcement.
“The mayor and the following members of the city council, in conjunction with the Human Resource Director [Shayne King], have finished our investigation and review of the recent allegations brought by three firefighters and statements from other fire department personnel regarding those allegations. At this time, we confirm our two findings: 1. the facts do not support the removal of Chief Cox and 2. the facts do not support disciplinary action against other firefighters.”
Councilmen Rick Meyer and Robby Young did not sign the statement because they were not present during executive session, when the statement was prepared. However, Meyer told the Courier today that he would like to review the release from the council before he agrees to sign it, but said he believes the issues between Cox and the firefighters need to be resolved.
“I am just glad it’s over and I hope these guys can put this behind them and we can move forward,” a visibly emotional Cox said Wednesday night. “I hope that [firefighters] can [reconcile]. I can. That’s all I got right now.”
With his son nearby, Cox was greeted with handshakes by MItchell, several councilmen and city employees following adjournment of the lengthy special council meeting at the Boswell Municipal Complex.
Several commended Cox on his performance as the incident commander for Operation Flood Relief in Bryant, the council’s emergency plan to rid the city of flood waters.
However, Bryant fire Lt. Daniel Weger, president of the newly formed firefighters union, told the Courier today that many Bryant firefighters disagree with the findings of the mayor and council. He said they will continue to press the issues brought against Cox despite fear of losing their jobs.
“We still stand behind our [March 13] vote of no confidence and we’ll continue to push for a better [fire] department,” Weger said. “I think through the whole investigation the city has been lying to the firefighters, media and the public. I think the members of the local 4606 will keep pressing the issues to let the citizens know what is going on.”
Cox, who has served as chief since 1999, went on medical leave from Feb. 18 to April 1 after two firefighters he had fired were permitted by city officials to return to duty. The firefighters were fired Feb. 6 and were allowed to return to work Feb. 14. The firefighters were reinstated because their actions were found to be legal under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
During a March 13 council meeting, King revealed that Cox had been under investigation by the city since Feb. 28, despite telling the Courier on March 10 that there was no investigation of Cox.
The Bryant firefighters then issued a vote of no confidence before the Bryant city council on March 13 citing “an absolute lack of faith in ... Cox’s ability to manage the Bryant Fire Department.” Firefighters said they have serious concerns about Cox’s integrity, honesty, character, and leadership skills.
The document also stated that Cox’s “seemingly totalitarian philosophy is not conducive to good working morale and has led to a fundamental and irreversible breakdown of trust. We feel this lack of self-control and leadership skills is leading the Bryant Fire Department to a foreseeable disaster, which the end result will be a totally dysfunctional fire department and public relations nightmare.
“We feel ... the chief is both arrogant and dictatorial, and has been unfair in promotions and discipline. He seems to have no loyalty to the Bryant firefighters and doesn’t know the difference between serving himself and others. ... “
On March 19, the city council called a special emergency session where it was announced by City Attorney Nga Starzewski that the state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel would allow the mayor, aldermen and King to serve as custodians of files relating to Cox’s investigation.
The Courier submitted a formal Freedom of Information Act request for files pertaining to Cox’s investigation on March 20, but Starzewski said in a faxed letter to the newspaper that it is her determination, not the attorney general’s, that the files are currently protected from the FOIA request.
During a March 31 city council meeting, several fire department policies were updated, but Weger asked why why a committee was not informed of the proposed changes.
“There was an agreement between the mayor, the fire chief and [firefighters] to form a labor management committee,” Weger said.
“Looking at all the policy changes, as I am aware of, nobody other than the chief has seen these [changes]. They didn’t ask for any help from the committee.”
During a Feb. 13 meeting, following the reinstatement of two firefighters, Weger, Mitchell and Cox met in the mayor’s office and agreed to install the Labor Management Review Committee to ensure that federal laws were known and enforced.
The committee was to be formed to “review any laws that we may not be aware of and make immediate changes” and “to keep laws intact and add any additional policies as needed,” according to Cox, who said that Weger, two firefighters and a battalion chief would sit on that committee.
Cox and Mitchell then explained that any policy changes will have to be submitted to and approved by the City Council.
“We were asked by a council member a couple of weeks ago why we haven’t formed a committee, but what’s the point when they don’t even ask for our input on it?” Weger said.
“They told us [policy changes] can only be submitted to the council by the fire chief and he hasn’t been here in a month and half ... they lied to the citizens and to the firefighters saying they we were going to form a committee and we haven’t formed one.”
Upon returning to work on April 1, Cox told the Courier that he did not let “all the negativity” surrounding the investigation affect him while he was on leave. He thanked the people who wished him well during his absence and issued the following statement about his return to work:
“I have spent 18 years with the Bryant Fire Department and served nine years of that as a paid chief. Over nine years we have accomplished a great many things, but we still have a lot to do. I am aware of issues that came up while I was on leave and I look forward to working with the city and the firefighters with these issues. I am glad to be back at work.”
On Wednesday night, Cox said that he believes the investigation and vote of no confidence was part of a retaliation by the fire department, but did not give specifics. He also said that he believed the council and mayor has supported him from the beginning of the allegations and the vote of no confidence by the Bryant firefighters. |
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