High Country Fire District Board fires Chief
Keeps Business Manager
The Board of Directors for High Country Fire Protection District (HCFPD) brought forth the public statement regarding Business Manager Shelia Kambic, as promised at their November meeting. All Board members, Paul Britton, Roger Durham, Robb Kambic, Brian Lesher and John Rittenhouse were present at the December 14th meeting as Board President Britton read:
“Some firefighters and/or residents of HCFPD have asked the HCFPD Board to take disciplinary action against the District Administrator, Shelia Kambic. In response to these requests the Board issues this statement.
Ms. Kambic was charged with a misdemeanor as a result of signing the current Chief’s name to a document in connection with the issuance of firefighter license plates. Ms. Kambic pled guilty. The Court sentenced her to six months supervised probation, fifty hours of community service, a fine of $1,000 (suspended) and $513 in court costs. The Board discussed this matter with Ms. Kambic in an executive session and considered the statement of the prior Chief that he had authorized Ms. Kambic to sign such documents for him while he was Chief. The Board does not believe that Ms. Kambic acted maliciously or with the intent to improperly benefit herself or anyone else. Further, the Board recognizes that people facing a criminal charge sometimes elect to accept a plea bargain rather than face the expense, risk and stress of a trial. The Board does not condone or support this type of behavior and is confident that it will not reoccur. The Board has instructed Ms. Kambic that such documents must now be signed by the Chief. Considering all the circumstances, including Ms. Kambic’s long history of professional service to HCFPD, and the consequences imposed by the Court, the Board concluded no other further action is necessary or appropriate. Ms. Kambic desired that the Board’s consideration of this personnel matter be conducted in an executive session, and it was. The Board will have no further public comment on this matter.”
Later in the same meeting, Britton read a letter from Fire Chief Richard Bulich who did not attend the meeting. (Bulich has attended approximately 50% of HCFPD meetings in the past year and has failed to follow through on various Board directives over numerous months. He has responded to approximately 13% of fire calls this year.) In his missive, Bulich tells the Board their actions “have put me in an impossible situation with regard to my position as Chief.” He illustrates that statement with four items: the Board had overruled the personnel board’s findings to suspend a station captain; the Board’s suspension of a firefighter; the Board’s “refusal to take appropriate action” regarding the Business Manager; and Durham’s continued use of an e-mail address representing him as Chief (Durham was Chief for the 24 years prior to Bulich). The Board stood by their actions and their organizational structure. Bulich has indicated numerous times that he wanted the Business Manager to report to him. As her position is equal to his, she reports directly to the Board. In his letter, he further stated, “I will no longer consent to the reporting structure you have imposed on me, as it clearly is not a functional reporting structure.” The letter did not state Bulich was resigning. However, it did prompt an executive session with the resulting action of the Board’s unanimous vote to remove Bulich as HCFPD Chief (it is a Board appointed position based on the voted recommendation of firefighters). Next spring, the firefighters will vote for their choice of Chief and again make their recommendation for the Board’s appointment. In the meantime, Deputy Chief Galen Koepke will be asked to step up and handle Chief duties. As he was out of town, Mark Moyer, Station 2 Captain agreed to serve as interim Chief.