By Andy Mal
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
CENTRAL VALLEY, Mont. — Nearly nine months after the state launched an investigation in to allegations of misconduct involving Brett Waters, the longtime chief of the Central Valley and Belgrade fire departments submitted a one-line letter of resignation this week.
“Effective immediately, I am resigning as fire chief/fire marshal for the Central Valley Rural Fire District,” Waters said in the undated letter to the district board of trustees, which was received last Tuesday.
Gene Spranget, chairman of the Central Valley board of trustees, said the board will meet Monday to discuss the resignation and its next steps. He referred questions to the district’s lawyer, Wayne Jennings of Bozeman.
The district has been negotiating with Waters over overtime wages and other compensation due him since he was placed on paid administrative leave in December, sources close to the situation have said.
Waters did not respond to efforts to reach him Thursday, and he is not expected to appear at Monday’s board meeting.
Waters’ resignation is the latest development in a drawn-out saga involving allegations that he misused department resources for personal gain and conducted other acts of misconduct. In November, Gallatin County severed its longstanding fire marshal contract with Waters after Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert said Waters had billed the county for services he had already received payment for as Central Valley’s chief. Waters and his attorney, Chuck Watson of Bozeman, vigorously defended the chief against Lambert’s charge.
When trustees placed Waters on administrative leave two weeks later, Watson called the move “premature” and “a witch hunt,” and said the action likely would “make a bad situation worse.”
The trustees will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the training center, 95 N. Davis, in Belgrade.
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