By Paul Scharf Beaver Dam Daily Citizen
The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
Copyright 2007 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
COLUMBUS, Wis. — The message from Acting Columbus Fire Chief Bill Kluetzman seemed to stress the obvious: “The Columbus Fire Dept. as of 1800 hrs does have staffing and will respond to all fires and rescues in the City of Columbus and surrounding townships.”
The reason that might need to be said was the strong reaction among volunteer firefighters and ordinary citizens to the appointment of a new fire chief on Thursday. Some of the firefighters were so upset over the selection of Chris Lyons as their boss that they initially had threatened to resign or not respond to calls.
“I have talked to a lot of the firefighters, and the city is protected,” said council member Nancy Osterhaus. “People don’t have to be concerned when they call 911. (The firefighters) really want to reassure people that they will respond to any emergency in Columbus. They don’t want people to be afraid.”
The Columbus City Council was scheduled to meet in closed session at 7:30 this morning to take a look at the controversy.
“There’s going to be no open session, there is going to be no action taken,” Mayor Dave Bomkamp said. “It’s just a closed session to discuss where we are at.”
Lyons already works full-time as a firefighter, inspector and educator for the fire department and part-time as a dispatcher at the Columbus Police Department.
Many, however, thought that the chief’s position would go to Kluetzman, who has been the acting chief of the department since October 2005.
City council member Ed Parpart said that he had people calling him throughout the day voicing their opposition to Lyons as the new chief. He said that their opposition is based on the perception that Lyons’ experience does not match that of Kluetzman.
“They thought that there was no other candidate even close to him,” Parpart said of Kluetzman.
Candidates for the chief’s position included Lyons, Kluetzman, Columbus firefighter Scott Hazeltine and former firefighter Bob Zapotocny.
“We had a very good running department, and we just shot ourselves in the foot. Why ruin something that’s running so good?” Parpart asked.
“As of today I have received no resignations,” Bomkamp said of the firefighters. “The decision (to appoint Lyons) will not be changed. The council has no say. It’s supposed to be a non-political decision.”
The Police and Fire Commission has the power to hire chiefs, not the mayor or the council.
Police and Fire Commission President Ed Schellin said of the controversy: “Nobody was demoted, nobody was removed from the department, the commissioners unanimously agreed with the professional peer review panel on who best fits the present job of chief of the department,” he said.