Naples Daily News
GOLDEN GATE, Fla. — The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed a complaint filed against Golden Gate Fire Chief Robert Metzger by the department’s union president, claiming it was legally insufficient and failed to show Metzger acted inappropriately.
Metzger’s administration and the union have also agreed on a drug-free workplace policy — a first for the department; the lack of which was the basis for the ethics complaint - which they intend to present to the fire commission for approval at Wednesday’s scheduled commission meeting.
But despite the dismissed complaint and the completed policy, Union President Christian Tobin said his concerns about Metzger remain.
“The firefighters don’t think the relationship between the administration and the union has improved,” Tobin said.
Acting on his own, and not on the union’s behalf, Tobin filed the ethics complaint against Metzger in late October, alleging the chief fraudulently filed a “Drug-Free Workplace” application with the district’s workers compensation carrier, Preferred Governmental Insurance Trust (PGIT). The district received a 5 percent discount from the carrier for having a drug-free workplace policy, even though it doesn’t actually have one.
Metzger has said all along that the district did not have a drug-free workplace policy, but said he was up front with the carrier.
“When we signed that document, we did so at the direction of the agent with whom we were dealing with this quote, who said it was appropriate for us to do so,” Metzger said.
In a Dec. 16 letter, a PGIT official wrote the district needs a policy, but added there was no “intent to defraud” the carrier. In the letter, PGIT gave the district 90 days to develop a drug-free workplace policy.
At the end of January, the ethics commission voted to dismiss Tobin’s complaint for legal insufficiency. In its decision, the commission wrote that to find Metzger guilty, there would have to be evidence he acted with “wrongful intent,” or he was “corruptly using his position or performing his duties to secure for himself, or another, a special privilege, benefit, or exemption.”
There was no evidence of either, the commission found.
“I obviously agree with the decision, and I’m glad that the commission ruled appropriately,” Metzger said.
Tobin called the decision “reasonable.”
“I can see their point of view,” Tobin said. “Do I think the chief’s actions were questionable, maybe unethical? Absolutely. That’s not the way you do public business.”
Regarding allegations that Metzger committed a felony by falsifying insurance documents, the commission wrote that the State Attorney’s Office has jurisdiction over violations of Florida Criminal Code.
“We’re considering maybe filing a complaint with the State Attorney’s Office,” Tobin said.
When told Tobin was considering going to the State Attorney, Metzger declined comment, saying it wouldn’t be productive.
“I would prefer that we were able to be more productive and to provide a closer working relationship, where we actually worked on district problems to move the district forward, instead of focusing on distractions,” Metzger said.
Both Tobin and Metzger said their members worked hard over the last month to agree on terms regarding the drug-free workplace policy. Tobin has expressed concern over the district’s lack of a policy for years.
The final piece of the puzzle is a memorandum of agreement by the union regarding the new policy’s impact on firefighters, laying out penalties, resolutions and a framework for how the district will work with firefighters who are found in violation. Tobin was slated to give the memorandum to Metzger at a meeting today, leading up to Wednesday’s commission meeting.
“It shows that we have the potential for working together when both parties are prepared to sit down and solve problems,” Metzger said of the drug-free workplace policy agreement. “And for the record, the administration is always willing and prepared to sit down and solve problems.”
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