The termination of three St. Lucie County firefighters is prompting the fire district to review its administrative policies and disciplinary processes.
Douglas Boudrais, Christopher Baldwin and Jordan Hutchinson were terminated following what the district investigated as an alleged hazing incident involving recruits being shocked with a modified bug zapper.
An independent investigation into the incident found what it described as a "culture of peer pressure and social exclusion." The firefighters' union, however, has characterized the incident as mutual horseplay among peers.
Jackson Lewis, an independent law firm, reviewed aspects of the district's termination and complaint processes and identified areas that it said needed review, particularly regarding complaints involving the fire chief or fire attorney.
Fire Chief Jeff Lee previously acknowledged that the district does not have a process for filing those types of complaints.
Board member Jamie Fowler proposed a public workshop and a review of the district's disciplinary history, saying the board needed a clearer picture of how those matters have been handled.
"We are the policy makers. This is what our job is. This is what needs to be done. So I also support a workshop where we can sit down, have a discussion on how we're going to move forward. Additionally, I think there should be a retroactive disciplinary audit to go back [and] to take a look and get a baseline and see what's been going on here in the district, because we need to know what's going on. This is our purview and we need to get to work addressing it, in my opinion," she said.
Fowler said the review should also address several specific areas of district policy.
"We need consistent enforcement. We need anti-retaliation protections. We need objective discipline and independent executive oversight, specifically when it does pertain to our chief, our attorney, or our clerk treasurer," she said.
Board member James Clasby argued that the board should first address the employment contracts of Fire Chief Lee and the fire attorney before proceeding with policy changes.
"I believe this board needs to determine whether either of them can continue effectively serving this board and whether any conduct identified in this matter meets the applicable contractual or legal standard for misconduct that could permit termination without severance," he said. "For me, the confidence is necessary for them to continue serving in these positions, and it's simply not there for me. I think that before we have any sort of policy change, these two cannot be involved in it."
The board majority instead chose to proceed with the audit before considering the contracts. Board member Curtis Johnson pointed to the board's decision to directly oversee the hiring of firms for the review.
"I think we have just demonstrated, to be fair and transparent, that we're going to take that process and have the board deal directly with hiring of these firms. That law firm deals with us. They work with us on reviewing these policies and putting those things in place. I think that gives some assurance to the public that we hear them, and then this board is going to step up, because we are the policy makers to address policy issues that have been glaringly brought to our attention, and we're going to fix that part of it," he said.
Johnson said he was not yet prepared to address the contracts of the district's fire attorney, fire chief and clerk-treasurer, but that would likely come after an audit.
"I'm not there yet to deal with my three employees here [Fire Attorney Sabol, Fire Chief Lee, Clerk Treasurer Tim Bargeron]. That day is coming," he said.
The audit is expected to examine the district's bylaws and policies, cultural issues and the process for filing complaints about district leaders.
Board member Stephanie Morgan said the review should be conducted carefully rather than simply as a procedural step. She proposed dates for the board to hold a workshop.
"I'm recommending either the [Sept.] 30 morning or afternoon and or the [Oct.] 7 at 9 a.m., and to set the workshop so that we can further discuss this," she said. "It's something that is so important that we can't just do it just to do it. We have to make sure the process and the issues are taken care of."
The board agreed to reconvene Sept. 30 at 10 a.m. and Oct. 7 at 8 a.m. to discuss district policy.