June 19 -- The city of Northport will soon wrap up a yearlong investigation into discord in its fire department, Mayor Donna Aaron said Monday night.
City leaders have said the division in the department stems from internal disagreements over union representation, training standards, overtime rules and more, but they have been hesitant to discuss any of those issues at length, citing the privacy rights of their employees.
Last August, Aaron issued a memo to all firefighters telling them to find a way to end their "infighting, division and pettiness" and essentially ordering them to cooperate with an investigation conducted by city administrator Bruce Higginbotham and a committee consisting of three former chiefs of the Northport Fire Rescue department.
In February, Higginbotham revealed that the city was reviewing more than 40 documents, statements, complaints and grievances filed by or about members of the fire department, but declined to release those documents to The Tuscaloosa News or to members of the City Council, again citing the privacy rights of the firefighters.
The mayor said Monday that the investigation is nearly over, and that Higginbotham is meeting with members of the department to ensure that all is well.
"Over the last several months, there has been dissention in the fire department and complaints have been made," Aaron said. "Specific complaints of current fire department employees have been addressed by the city administrator and he is in the process of meeting with each employee to go over his investigation."
As she did last August, Aaron called for the restoration of unity in the department and asked the firefighters to follow the chain of command in their disagreements with one another.
"It is now time to move forward and all employees in the Northport fire department must be committed to working together for the benefit of the citizens of Northport and the fire department," Aaron said. "All firefighters should be treated with dignity and respect -- treat each other as you would want to be treated."
Bart Marshall, the city's fire chief, sent a statement to the Tuscaloosa News on Monday night
"As the fire chief of the city of Northport, I take great pride in doing what is right and in the best interest of public safety for both our firefighters and the citizens of Northport," Marshall said. "I always follow proper chain of command within my department and with city officials, including elected officials and I will continue to do so. It is right for the importance of following chain of command to be reinforced."
___ (c)2018 The Tuscaloosa News, Ala. Visit The Tuscaloosa News, Ala. at www.tuscaloosanews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
