CLEBURNE, Texas — Nine out of 12 fire chiefs in Johnson County signed a letter saying they have no confidence in two emergency service board members want them to step down.
The Burelson Star reported Bryan Jamison, fire chief and president of the county’s emergency services association, requested the resignation of board President Jack Watson and Treasurer Keith Kelly on behalf of the Johnson County fire chiefs. Board members control fire department budgets and are appointed by county commissioners.
“That is the collective position of fire service in this county,” Jamison said. “Like it or not, that is the collective voice,” said Jamison.
In the letter, Jamison addressed several concerns the fire chiefs’ share concerning Kelly and Watson including too much direct involvement with the day-to-day operations, questionable fiscal policy, creation of a hostile work environment among staff, manipulation of board decisions, and failure to follow through on plans made when the tax increase was passed.
“Politics,” Kelly said following the meeting. “This is politics and you can just take it for what it is.”
Watson said he needed to digest the contents of the letter before responding.
An additional complaint against Kelly involved questionable purchasing involving Kelly’s personal business, KMP graphics.
“There were other concerns raised, but those constituted the bulk of the discussion,” Jamison said. “When we’re not happy, we take action. In this case, the action is directed at the board itself. There’s a systemic problem in Johnson County fire service.”
Additionally, the fire chiefs were concerned about a lack of strategic financial planning for the county fire services and the fire chiefs’ lack of control over the money.
“An organization with a $4 million or $5 million annual budget should have some kind of plan for the future,” said Jamison. The chiefs also charge that the board is holding too much money in reserve, saying the board is holding 15 months of operating expenses when six months would suffice.
The rest of that money, they say, should be released to the fire departments. One example is recent requests for money to buy radios.
“The direction at the time was, ‘You have a budget, go out and buy more radios,’” Jamison said. “But, it is not that easy when radios cost $3,000 each. That’s kind of a big deal for volunteer departments.”
Jamison said the bottom line is a large majority of the fire chiefs agree and Kelly and Watson should heed their requests.