Hannibal Fire Chief

[hotgrandmaof4]

I for one believe you have lost your best resource in Tim Carter........He has lived for the fire dept. and that phone is always growing out of his ear because of something to do with the dept....I'm posting this from Wales,uk......I wasw appalled when I read this story in the hannibal news.....this man has done every thing for Hannibal........remember the helmut cams whose idea was that?????? Somone else took the glory away from Mr. Carter......makes one wonder what the board is thinking . ...Thank You

[Katyb]

When I saw the headlines, it literally made my stomach sick....It seems our city fathers does not want a job done right...We need a good housecleaning....And, not starting with Tim....

[i4no24]

What we don't know is what happened to lead to this! IF you are privy to the inside workings of the Dept. then you may well know that, from most of the firefighters points of view, Tim is a poor leader. Was he a good firefighter, yes! Good leader? NO! The fact that it was his idea to get the helmets has no bearing on his ability as a leader. That proves that he has good ideas from time to time!

[TaxPayer]

i4no24

Since you are a corrections officer it can be infered that your opinion is based on the same gossip coming out of the firehouse or your name is Dale and recently retired. Too bad the facts that lead to this being kept hush..hush...hush... I am sure all sides would have a "hay day" with their point of view and opinion. However, this isn't the case and people shouldn't speculate on gossip. The one thing I do know for a fact is that Jason Janes is a direct cousin to acting chief Bill Madore. Don't want to speculate...but I do think there is a conflict of interest there.

[dadof3sofar]

Taxpayer, obviously you don't know Jason Janes. He isn't anything but a solid councilman. You think he would put Madore in due to nepotism?...and not consider all the assumptions such as yours? I don't believe anyone will settle the matter here...as usual.

Plus, I don't recall Dale ever mentioning his affection for NASCAR.

[TaxPayer]

dadof3sofar

Please don't read more into my post than what is written. I didn't write that Janes appointed Madore because they are cousins! I stated that its a fact they are cousins and it is a conflict of interest. I am sure there is City policy that addresses nepotism where an employee isn't suppose to be directly supervised by a relative. Since Janes is the Fire Board chairman, in my view there is a conflict of interest. Even though there is one other active board member to share responsibility of this supervision, Janes at least should step down as chairman to give the appearance of integrity whether perceived or real. It is not my intent to slander anyone. Have nice day...........get off the computer its beautiful outside and thats where I am going..

[Xchance]

In your behalf i4no24, if I may, he isnt Dale but you are correct about the corrections officer status. I know the man rather well and I assure you it isnt Dale. I also want to assume that you are referring to Dale DeLaporte and that is an incorrect assumption also. My disagreement is that there were only 2 board members to make that decision to let Tim go ...... good decision or bad there should be more than 2 board members when making a critical decision. JMHO. I know Tim and my personal thoughts of him is that he is a good and kind man that has some good ideas but as a leader he has shortcomings. You people can speculate all you want but I believe Tim bowed out in a gracious way. I commend Tim for his efforts as a fire chief. I respect Tim for his comments in the HCP. Time will tell as to the boards decision on letting Tim go.

[i4no24]

i4no24

Since you are a corrections officer it can be infered that your opinion is based on the same gossip coming out of the firehouse or your name is Dale and recently retired. Too bad the facts that lead to this being kept hush..hush...hush... I am sure all sides would have a "hay day" with their point of view and opinion. However, this isn't the case and people shouldn't speculate on gossip. The one thing I do know for a fact is that Jason Janes is a direct cousin to acting chief Bill Madore. Don't want to speculate...but I do think there is a conflict of interest there.

You are correct in the fact that I am a Corrections Officer (for approximately 10 years). Incorrect in the idea that my name is Dale, Correct in the Idea that there would be a conflict of interest. But due to the fact that there are only 2 active members on the board I would say that the decision to place Tim on administrative leave would have been unanimous by all the voting members even if Jason abstained from voting! Rumors are just that, rumors and perception is in the eyes of the beholder.

[bob barker]

According to the Personnel Manual that was adopted by council, Mr. Madore cannot be appointed by Mr. Janes due to the nepotism clause. Council approval of an appointment of a fire chief is not needed so they can't get by with using the council's approval as a way around this. In the case of the police chief, there is a supervisor between the chief and his wife so there is no direct supervision. There is no one, not even the Mayor or council, between the fireboard and the fire chief. This whole thing doesn't pass the "sniff" test with me. Also, shouldn't the council appoint someone to fill in as an acting board member due to the lengthy illness of Council Member Wilson. I don't feel comfortable with only 2 people making a decision like this. Doesn't sound much like a democracy to me especially since one of them is a relative.

[Xchance]

I agree with your entire assessment Bob. I, too, believe that an appointment made by the council was a necessity. Fact of the matter is that Kyle should have resigned once he knew it was going to be a lenghty ordeal so that the council could appoint someone to fill the duties of a fireboard member.

[puppet]

Haven't any of you all grasped the concept that Police Dept, Fire Dept, Courts officals, Goverement, etc, do as the please rather we like it or not.

[soshia]

Haven't any of you all grasped the concept that Police Dept, Fire Dept, Courts officials, Goverement, etc, do as the please rather we like it or not.

I don't know much about the internal workings of the fire department, but I know that whenever I needed something from Tim Carter, he was willing, eager, intelligent, and professional. I think the reason Tim didn't last in the fire department is because he expected some firefighters to help on department building projects after their other work was done. This would've taken away from their time in the easy chair (that they were still getting their same hourly rate for during their 24 hours paid shift). Some how Tim got in a little trouble in January, and nine months later it looks to me like Paxton and the IAFF Local 1211 are still crying to the fire board to get a clear definition of what extra duties they can be assigned because they don't want to do anything beyond the bare minimum.

And before this becomes a flame war with people telling me that the firefighters do a great job and I'll sure appreciate them when my house is on fire, I concur fully that firefighters do a great job when they are actively doing something. What I'm saying is that when the firefighters union is whining about their members having to do extra work during the course of their paid work day, in addition to getting paid to sleep 80% of nights in the year they don't roll on calls, I say "gimme a break".

Also, I agree with the fire board problems raised by a previous poster. Janes and Madore both seem like nice guys, but if they're related, and Janes' decisions affect Madore's job one way or the other, Janes’ should abstain. Although this might have put it all on Louderman's shoulders, that's a problem that everyone should have thought of back when Wilson's health started to deteriorate.

Tim Carter did a hell of a lot for this City and this Fire Department and he will definitely be missed by a lot of people outside of HFD.

[bob barker]

Yes Puppet, I am aware that they Fire, Police, Govt., etc. does anything they want to, but isn't it fun to be vocal about it and watch the little worms wiggle, wiggle, wiggle?

[gonebutnotforgetting]

Having known Tim and his sincere dedication and loyality to his job and the citizens of Hannibal It saddens me to see that absolutley nothing has changed since our move, just diferent names and faces. Its the same old political bs that has plagued Hannibal for years. What is amazing is the fact that Hannibals citizens continue to accept and lay down while good honest men are being sacrificed and thrown to the wolves.
God bless you Tim and Thank you for your dedication and continued loyality to the citizens of Hannibal.

[DND]

In the case of the police chief, there is a supervisor between the chief and his wife so there is no direct supervision.

Actually the policy manual entitled the Employee Guide To Success says No person shall suopervise either directly or indirectly any family member.

Before you ask, I have a copy of it.