Polson fire chief gets show of support

Polson Fire Chief Tom Maloney received a strong show of support at last week's city council meeting after a city councilman suggested that he should be put on a six-month probationary period instead of being reappointed outright.

Councilman Fred Funke acknowledged having some personal problems with Maloney, saying that "this isn't anything personal against the fire department," but declined to be more specific about his reservations against Maloney.

Maloney and several other city appointees, including Police Chief Doug Chase, were up for reappointment at last week's meeting — what Maloney characterized as "normally a formality" after the meeting — but their appointments had been rescheduled several times since first appearing on a January city council agenda.

"I would ask Councilman Funke why there's a need to do this … after six years of service," Maloney asked of the probationary period.

Mayor Randy Ingram asked Maloney if he'd like to hold further discussions in a closed session, citing Maloney's right to privacy, but Maloney said he was happy to hold discussions about his job performance in a public forum, and demanded that Funke explain why he had reservations about his ability.

Funke said he didn't "want to embarrass anyone," but told the firefighters who attended the meeting that he sees Maloney "in a different way than you do."

"I've been in a couple of discussions with him recently. It's the way he presents himself to the city council, and to me," Funke said, noting that he didn't want to elaborate more.

"Let's air the dirty laundry," Maloney said.

Several Polson residents, firefighters and current and former councilman spoke on Maloney's behalf, saying he had done a good job ensuring the professionalism of the fire department.

"I came up here expecting unanimous support. It's unbelievable to make a motion to put him on probation," said local Realtor and Senate District 5 candidate Ric Smith, who talked about Maloney's and the department's response to an auto accident his wife and son had been in.

"Chief Maloney over the years has raised the bar" on the department's professionalism, Smith said. "I think he should be given accolades and support, not probation."

"By any measure, Chief Maloney did an outstanding job" in handling the collapse of the deck at the Diamond Horseshoe, and the resulting media coverage, in August, 2004, councilman Jules Clavadetscher said.

"I see absolutely no reason why there should be a six-month probationary period," said councilman Tom Corse.

Former councilmen Dan Morrison and Lou Marchello also spoke in favor of Maloney.

Many firefighters had attended past meetings expecting the issue to come to a head, only to have it postponed. They were outspoken in their support for Maloney.

"I hope you aren't using your position on the city council to further a personal agenda," firefighter Martin Glasson said to Funke.

City attorney James Raymond, whose job was also up for reappointment, said he didn't think the city code allowed an employee to be put back on probation after being taken off the original probationary period. Maloney said after the meeting he was subjected to a six-month probationary period when he was first hired, but was surprised that someone would ask him to work under another probationary period after he'd been on the job for so long.

Councilman Mike Lies accused Maloney of "harassing" a local Dept. of Natural Resources Conservation representative in a recent conversation, saying the fire chief had "a one-track mind."

Maloney disputed that, saying that the DNRC representative had been disrespectful to the fire department in the past, and that the issue had been discussed with DNRC management.

A motion to approve the reappointments, with a six-month probationary period for Maloney, was voted on, and Lies, Funke and councilman Bruce Agrella voted in favor, while Corse, Clavadetscher and Mark MacDonald voted against.

Ingram broke the tie, and a new motion to approve all reappointments with no probationary periods was made, and Ingram again broke the 3-3 tie.