Committee won't overturn fire dept. reprimand

Havre City Council’s Police and Fire Committee has passed on an opportunity to intervene in a grievance procedure filed by Local 601 International Association of Fire Fighters.

At question was a written reprimand against firefighter D.J. Olsen who department officials said was insubordinate.

Last Monday, the Police and Fire Committee met separately with union officials and Olsen and then with Chief Tim Hedges and Assistant Chief Norm Paulsen.

The issue concerns a Life Pack 15 that Paulsen, then acting chief because Hedges was on medical leave, said should not be on the ambulances until all firefighters were trained.

Olsen put the Life Pack on the ambulance and the dispute is over whether there was a misunderstanding or a direct act of insubordination.

The two sides also disagreed over an incident in which Paulsen and Olsen exchanged heated words.

The issue was brought before the council committee by the firefighters union, which asked the committee instruct Hedges to withdraw the letter.

That would have avoided proceeding with the grievance the union filed. The grievance procedures call for the matter to eventually go to mediation and then arbitration if no agreement is reached.

“You two are apart,” Committee Chair Terry Lilletvedt said. “We don’t think we should intervene.”

During the meeting, Cody McLain, chair of the union’s Grievance Committee, said the reprimand should be withdrawn and the matter put behind them for the good of the department.

McLain said Olsen was a good firefighter with a good record and should not be reprimanded for a misunderstanding.

But later, Hedges told the committee he was just exercising his authority as chief to discipline an insubordinate firefighter.

Traditionally, meetings such as this are held in closed-door sessions, and the public is barred, as is allowed by Montana law. But the public access laws allow employees to waive the right to closed meetings, and Olsen asked that the session be open.

City officials initially refused to provide the Havre Daily News with documents that were discussed at the open meeting, but turned them over aftger the newspaper filed a formal request.