Copyright 2005, Record Searchlight

Adequacy of meeting notice at issue in dispute over hiring of fire chief

(Record Searchlight 1/14/05) -- Officials here hired a fire chief in a matter of minutes at a meeting this week, and in so doing may have violated a state law requiring advance notice of such actions.

The fire district's board of directors voted 3-2 Monday to hire interim Chief Adrian Rogers to the permanent job without taking applications, advertising the opening or doing background checks.

Rogers, 36, does not hold a firefighting degree, a requirement for the fire chief's position until last month, when the board decided it also would accept equivalent experience. Rogers was a battalion chief for three years and has been employed at the station for 11 years.

In addition, the agenda for the meeting listed only "fire chief position/application," a description that led at least one board member to expect that the panel was simply going to discuss what qualifications it would like to see in applicants.

"It didn't say anything about hiring anybody," said Gary Nicholls, who voted against Rogers' hiring.

Nicholls, who believes the board may have violated the Brown Act, a state open meetings law, said he still has no idea what Rogers' qualifications are, or what's in his personnel file. "It's absolutely absurd to hire a CEO and not know what his qualifications are," he said.

The move surprised even Rogers, who didn't know Wednesday how much his new job pays. His annual salary will be $54,000, he said Thursday.

"It was a shock," he said of his hiring. "I mean, I was happy that it came to be, but it was like, whoa."

Being accused of violating the Brown Act is nothing new for the board. A grand jury in 2003 said the board had repeatedly flouted the law, improperly describing closed session items on meeting agendas 12 times.

Last month, a resident complained that the Shasta Lake City Council didn't adequately describe a meeting's agenda item. Colleen Leavitt has filed a lawsuit against the council for the alleged Brown Act violation.

At Monday's fire protection district meeting, Chase, knowing that advertising, recruiting, interviewing and hiring a chief from outside the firehouse would take about six months, suggested a shortcut. In a formal motion, he proposed hiring Rogers. After a brief discussion, the vote was taken.

In an interview Wednesday, Chase defended the board's action. "He (Rogers) meets all of the qualifications of what we were going to advertise."

The district's counsel, Redding attorney David Huscher, denied Nicholls' claim that the board's action is a violation of the Brown Act. But he did say that, in general, items listed on agendas for board meetings should be more descriptive.

"I think that probably would be a good idea, just so that people feel that they have complete and adequate notice at a meeting. That's always a good idea," he said.

Peter Scheer, executive director for the California First Amendment Coalition, said the agenda "was so ambiguous as to suggest the council really did not want to give notice."

"Strictly as a matter of law, they might be able to get away with that. But why take that chance? By taking a chance, they not only fail the citizens by denying them an opportunity to come and comment, but they also take a completely unnecessary risk that they'll be sued under the Brown Act," he said.

If the board wanted to take an action not described in the agenda, it should have been scheduled and posted in a later meeting's agenda, Scheer said.

Board member Oly Olsen said he spoke with Huscher before the meeting and was assured hiring Rogers was allowed by the district's bylaws. He believes it also followed Brown Act rules.

But, along with Nicholls, he voted against hiring Rogers because he'd like Rogers to get more experience, he said.

As for Rogers, who was appointed interim chief Oct. 1, he said his 11 years at the station has prepared him to be a good leader.

"One thing I believe in is following the rules," he said. "So to the best of my ability, the district is going to follow all the rules."

By Kimberly Bolander