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Discipline <br />Many bylaws contain provisions allowing some group - maybe the executive committee of a fire <br />department, officers, or even the whole of fire department members - to administer discipline <br />against a firefighter for failure to follow bylaw rules or for other inappropriate behavior. <br />It's very important that employee discipline policies be <br />clear and applied fairly and justly across the board. <br />Similar to hiring, only a city council or its delegee is Learn More <br />authorized to discipline employees. Discipline by other Read more about discipline in: <br />measures needs to be eliminated unless it's part of an Discipline and Termination in the <br />authorized city HR policy. Under no circumstances Public Sector <br />should the discipline of a firefighter be determined by a <br />vote of other firefighters. <br />Officer Roles <br />Fire department bylaws may provide for election of officers and may define the roles of such <br />officers. The first issue here relates back to department elections. Fire department elections need <br />to be eliminated altogether, whether it is the election of new firefighters or officers. <br />The issue of establishing and defining officer roles is perhaps more difficult to consider. Bylaws <br />often set forth the typical roles of chief, assistant chief, captain, etc., but then also provide for a <br />president, vice - president, secretary and treasurer. <br />If there is a fire department president or vice - president, how does that role differ from the chief <br />and assistant chief? If there is need for both roles, then job descriptions should clearly define these <br />roles and prevent overlapping duties. And the proper place for all job descriptions is with the city <br />HR department, not in fire department bylaws. <br />If the purpose of these bylaw provisions is to address officers of the relief association, the <br />appropriate place to document the roles is in relief association materials. The relief association, <br />unlike the fire department, is a separate legal entity. Descriptions of officer positions related to the <br />relief association should not be intermingled with matters related to the fire department. <br />Establishing the role of a fire department treasurer is <br />particularly concerning. Some fire departments have <br />operated somewhat autonomously from the city. For <br />example, some fire departments receive funds into their <br />own checking accounts and independently authorize the <br />expenditures of public funds. Such practices, however, are <br />not legal. Fire departments are not allowed to have <br />separate checkbooks under state laws governing <br />Read more about managing relief <br />association and city fire department <br />expenditures of public funds. Accordingly, a fire department treasurer is truly unnecessary. <br />11 <br />