Leadership

City Talks With Iowa Fire Capt. Threatening Suit

Jan. 28, 2013

City's attorney, Mitch Taylor, has entered negotiations with West Burlington Fire Capt. Skylar Limkemann's attorney and managed to get more time to respond to a letter sent earlier this month.

Source The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa

Jan. 28--WEST BURLINGTON -- City's attorney, Mitch Taylor, has entered negotiations with West Burlington Fire Capt. Skylar Limkemann's attorney and managed to get more time to respond to a letter sent earlier this month.

Limkemann's attorney wrote the letter to the West Burlington City Council on Jan. 4, demanding $150,000 in damages and a $5,000 higher education stipend for his client.

In the letter, Limkemann's attorney told the city he would advise his client to sue the city for defamation if it did not pay his damages along with the stipend and issue a public apology by 5 p.m. Jan. 25.

Limkemann originally threatened to sue the city for defamation after two members of the city council accused him of lying in a grant application he wrote on the city's behalf last summer.

The federal $523,430 grant was awarded to the city in July.

It did not cost the city and was intended to help retain more firefighters.

Neither the attorneys nor their clients were available for comment.