Austin fire chief resigns

By Tony Plohetski
Austin American-Statesman

AUSTIN — Austin Fire Chief J.J. Adame, Corpus Christi's former chief, resigned Wednesday and will receive a $45,473 lump sum payment.

Under the separation agreement with the city, he also must not make any statements publicly or to any city of Austin employees about the circumstances of his departure or discuss the agreement, according to the three-page document.

Adame, who earned $155,937 a year, was hired in February 2006 after a three-decade career at the Corpus Christi Fire Department that included 18 years as chief.

Adame delivered a brief resignation letter to City Manager Marc Ott that said: "I have enjoyed my time with the city of Austin and working with the dedicated staff in the fire department."

His departure comes about six weeks after Assistant City Manager Michael McDonald sent Adame a memo saying that he had 45 days to make certain improvements, including increasing his leadership in the department and decreasing his dependence on Chief of Staff Jim Evans.

Since then, Adame has said he was trying to make several changes, including creating a mentorship program for officers interested in promotions through the ranks and requiring more of his staff to report directly to him.

"Regrettably, we have seen little progress," Ott said Wednesday during a news conference.

Ott said he would conduct a national search for Adame's replacement and would like to name a new chief in six months.

Ott said that he and other city officials have been meeting regularly with Adame in the weeks since McDonald gave him the memo.

The memo said that although he thinks Adame has a wealth of technical experience, he was worried about Adame's assertiveness and his ability to create a vision for the department.

McDonald also wrote in the memo that Adame must complete certain process improvements, including those cited in a recent audit that found that payroll and overtime were paid incorrectly in some instances.