Wichita's firefighters union is calling for the resignation of the fire chief and two other high-ranking fire administration officials.
Local 135 wants Fire Chief Ron Blackwell, Deputy Chief Ron Aaron and Division Chief Billy Wenzel to step down, after union members surveyed overwhelmingly indicated they have no confidence in their leadership.
"This vote has been coming for a long time," said Matt Schulte, president of the union, which has about 350 members.
Issues with the fire administration have been building for the past few years, Schulte said.
Among the most grating for union members was seeing double-digit raises being given to certain administrative staff members during difficult economic times that saw front-line emergency response units taken out of service.
The union also accuses fire administration officials of trying to change the terms of the last contract after agreement had already been reached
"Misplaced budget priorities have at times left areas of Wichita unprotected and unprepared" in the event of emergencies requiring multi-unit responses, according to a statement released by the union.
The final straw, Schulte said, came when serious errors were discovered during the promotion process last November. The errors caused promotions to be reversed pending reviews with the corrected scores.
"You're dealing with people's careers and livelihoods there," Schulte said.
Blackwell has been Wichita fire chief since 2007.
Division Chief Tammy Snow and Fire Marshal Brad Crisp were included in the survey of union membership. Voters gave Snow a strong vote of confidence -- 93 percent.
Of those who voted, 58 percent said they have no confidence in Crisp's leadership. Schulte said the union found that figure acceptable and has no plans to seek Crisp's removal.
In sharp contrast to the others included in the vote, Schulte said, the union strongly supports Snow.
"Chief Snow has always had the best interests of the employees at heart throughout her career," Schulte said.
The union's survey is nonbinding, Schulte said. It is the first no-confidence vote taken in the history of the department.
But it will have no bearing at all in how firefighters perform their duties, he said. It is also not a statement on how effectively fire investigators do their jobs, he said.
City officials plan to respond to the union's statement at an afternoon news conference at City Hall.
Copyright 2012 - The Wichita Eagle, Kan.
McClatcy-Tribune News Service
