Commissioners delay vote on buyout
Board to decide amount in January
By Justin St. Clair
jstclair@lehighnewsstar.com
Originally posted on November 19, 2005
Lehigh fire commissioners will wait until January to decide how much they will pay to buy Chief James Cardoza out of his contract.
The board voted 4-0 for the buyout in August, and Commissioner Jeff Berndt has been negotiating with Cardoza since then to reach a price.
Berndt told the board Wednesday that they had agreed on a number, but asked to hold a special meeting in January because Commissioner Barry Ashman and the board's attorney, Richard Pringle, were absent.
Berndt also tabled a scheduled vote in October so Pringle could look over the agreement. Cardoza said he had no problem with the delay.
"If that's the decision of the board, that's fine with me," Cardoza said.
The board set aside $500,000 for the buyout in their budget, but have said they don't have to spend that much.
Commissioners have stood by the buyout, despite concerns raised by residents who have said they don't see problems with the district or the chief's performance.
Commissioners have said there is a problem with training and leadership in the district, and they want to bring in a new chief with more experience leading larger departments as Lehigh grows.
Cardoza, who makes $115,500 a year and has a contract that expires in September 2007, has said he agreed to the buyout when he saw he did not have the board's support.
He is staying on until at least February, when he will be eligible for full retirement benefits.
Residents continued to criticize the board's decision Wednesday.
Lehigh resident Keith Kaye said the board should be more clear on their reason for buying the chief out. He said he didn't see any action in his track record that would warrant it.
"If there is a cause, then there needs to be some action," Kaye said. "If there's no cause, then I don't think you have the right to spend money to make room for someone else."
Lehigh resident Harold Doidge criticized the board for hiring Mary Ellen Dorsett, a commissioner in the Iona-McGregor fire district, at a rate of $100 an hour to head the search for a new chief. Three of the Lehigh commissioners are firefighters in Iona-McGregor.
"I think that's a conflict of interest," Doidge said.
Lehigh resident Hugh Piper said Berndt and Joel Guzman, who were elected last year, won their seats because fellow firefighters and union members in Lehigh came out in their support.
Piper said he was shocked to see the commissioners then turn around and blast the chief and the district.
"Enjoy your ride, because it's going to be short," Piper said.
Commissioners have said that with Lehigh's rapid growth, now is the time for change.
"We need some fresh ideas and thinking," Commissioner Steven Haas said before the meeting.
The district, which covers 143 square miles, has three fire stations and plans to build two new ones for $2.5 million each. Twenty-four firefighters will be hired to man the new stations; 66 already are on staff.
Assistant Chief Jeff Haugh said the district responded to 523 emergency calls in October, 25 percent more than it had in October 2004 and 47 percent more than in the same month two years ago.
Ashman has said he believed the main problem is that most of Cardoza's experience moving up in the district was as a paramedic, and his leadership wasn't as strong concerning the firefighting side of the district's operations.
In other action, Commissioner Bruce Boyd turned down a nomination to keep his seat as chairman for another year.
Boyd, who has been chairman for eight years, is the only non-firefighter on the board. He was absent when the four other commissioners voted for the buyout, but has since come out against it.
He said he wanted to hand over the gavel so he could focus less on running the meetings and more on speaking his mind.
"I want to be on the sidelines a little bit where I can make a few more comments," Boyd said.
The board elected Haas, who is a firefighter in North Fort Myers, as the new chairman.
By Justin St. Clair
jstclair@lehighnewsstar.com
Originally posted on November 19, 2005
Lehigh fire commissioners will wait until January to decide how much they will pay to buy Chief James Cardoza out of his contract.
The board voted 4-0 for the buyout in August, and Commissioner Jeff Berndt has been negotiating with Cardoza since then to reach a price.
Berndt told the board Wednesday that they had agreed on a number, but asked to hold a special meeting in January because Commissioner Barry Ashman and the board's attorney, Richard Pringle, were absent.
Berndt also tabled a scheduled vote in October so Pringle could look over the agreement. Cardoza said he had no problem with the delay.
"If that's the decision of the board, that's fine with me," Cardoza said.
The board set aside $500,000 for the buyout in their budget, but have said they don't have to spend that much.
Commissioners have stood by the buyout, despite concerns raised by residents who have said they don't see problems with the district or the chief's performance.
Commissioners have said there is a problem with training and leadership in the district, and they want to bring in a new chief with more experience leading larger departments as Lehigh grows.
Cardoza, who makes $115,500 a year and has a contract that expires in September 2007, has said he agreed to the buyout when he saw he did not have the board's support.
He is staying on until at least February, when he will be eligible for full retirement benefits.
Residents continued to criticize the board's decision Wednesday.
Lehigh resident Keith Kaye said the board should be more clear on their reason for buying the chief out. He said he didn't see any action in his track record that would warrant it.
"If there is a cause, then there needs to be some action," Kaye said. "If there's no cause, then I don't think you have the right to spend money to make room for someone else."
Lehigh resident Harold Doidge criticized the board for hiring Mary Ellen Dorsett, a commissioner in the Iona-McGregor fire district, at a rate of $100 an hour to head the search for a new chief. Three of the Lehigh commissioners are firefighters in Iona-McGregor.
"I think that's a conflict of interest," Doidge said.
Lehigh resident Hugh Piper said Berndt and Joel Guzman, who were elected last year, won their seats because fellow firefighters and union members in Lehigh came out in their support.
Piper said he was shocked to see the commissioners then turn around and blast the chief and the district.
"Enjoy your ride, because it's going to be short," Piper said.
Commissioners have said that with Lehigh's rapid growth, now is the time for change.
"We need some fresh ideas and thinking," Commissioner Steven Haas said before the meeting.
The district, which covers 143 square miles, has three fire stations and plans to build two new ones for $2.5 million each. Twenty-four firefighters will be hired to man the new stations; 66 already are on staff.
Assistant Chief Jeff Haugh said the district responded to 523 emergency calls in October, 25 percent more than it had in October 2004 and 47 percent more than in the same month two years ago.
Ashman has said he believed the main problem is that most of Cardoza's experience moving up in the district was as a paramedic, and his leadership wasn't as strong concerning the firefighting side of the district's operations.
In other action, Commissioner Bruce Boyd turned down a nomination to keep his seat as chairman for another year.
Boyd, who has been chairman for eight years, is the only non-firefighter on the board. He was absent when the four other commissioners voted for the buyout, but has since come out against it.
He said he wanted to hand over the gavel so he could focus less on running the meetings and more on speaking his mind.
"I want to be on the sidelines a little bit where I can make a few more comments," Boyd said.
The board elected Haas, who is a firefighter in North Fort Myers, as the new chairman.
posted by Editor Facts & Myths | 11:45 AM
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