CHARLESTON, S.C. — A fire department in South Carolina has submitted a vote of no confidence for their fire chief.
ABCnews4.com reported the St. John’s Fire Department voted on Monday after filing a list of complaints about Chief Colleen Walz.
Three-fourths of the department signed the letter that was brought to a fire department meeting. In the letter, firefighters and residents detailed their complaints.
Barbara Robertson, who read the letter at the meeting, said firefighters were upset by the “constant degrading and belittling remarks made to office staff, chief officers and firefighting personnel” by Chief Walz.
Additionally, Walz received a $35,000 pay raise despite department budget issues.
“Any vote of no confidence is not a good thing for any kind of organization,” said Bruce Burding, president of the St. John’s Professional Firefighters. “This was put together by firefighters in general in regards to a lot of issues.”
It took Robertson more than 20 minutes to read the list of grievances.
Chief Walz confirmed the pay raise but said her salary is similar to other chiefs in the area, according to the report.
“I did get a raise this year,” she said. “When I came here my salary was $89,000 plus medical benefits. My salary right now is about $123,000,” she said.
The St. John’s Fire District Commission said they needed more time to look into the complaints before responding.