Critics call out group
Retired fire captain: Panel's 5 meetings in 4 years 'says they don't care'
By Glenn Smith
Previous story
Gallant quits safety panel, published 06/03/08
The Public Safety Committee would never be mistaken as the workhorse of Charleston City Council. Though the panel has a duty to watch over the city's fire, police and emergency services, it met just five times over the past four years.
Feeling sidelined and ignored in the wake of the deadly Sofa Super Store blaze, some City Council members last year called for the committee to emerge from its hibernation and take a more active role. Some even suggested the committee's hands-off approach helped allow problems at the fire department to fester for years.
Despite pledges to kick-start the four-member advisory committee, the group has met just twice since that time. Critics say that is not enough, given that the police and fire departments account for roughly 46 per-cent of Charleston's operating budget and half of its work force.They point to more than $7.4 million the city must spend on the fire department to correct deficiencies that came to light after the June 18, 2007, sofa store blaze killed nine Charleston firefighters. And they cite some $2.4 million the city has spent to outfit its police department with modern computers, record systems and other equipment after years of lagging behind the times.
"If the committee is supposed to be looking out for the benefit of firefighters and policemen, don't you think they need to meet once in a while?" retired Fire Capt. Clinton Jones said. "I think this says they don't care about the firemen."
Not so, said committee members and Mayor Joe Riley. They said the committee meets whenever needed, and the city pays close attention to its public safety needs. Even in the absence of committee meetings, councilmen and citizens have ample opportunities to raise concerns about the police and fire departments at two City Council meetings each month, Riley said.
"It's a very participatory process," he said.
The Public Safety Committee has improved its performance since 2005 and 2006, when it didn't meet at all. The panel's last meeting was in April, when it received updates from the police and fire chiefs, as well as the city's emergency management director. That followed a 10-month stretch without a meeting. In the interim, new grumbling surfaced in the fire department about what some perceived as the slow pace of change.
"Obviously, we would like to have them more involved," said Engineer Bill Haigler, president of the local firefighters union. "There is a general overall concern that the mayor makes all the decisions. ... Another set of eyes and voices in the process is always welcome."
City Councilwoman Yvonne Evans, who has chaired the committee since June 2008, blamed the downtime on scheduling difficulties and a desire to let new Fire Chief Thomas Carr get accustomed to his job. She hopes to soon have the committee on a quarterly meeting schedule. But some question whether that is enough.
Former City Councilman Henry Fishburne, who chaired the Public Safety Committee between 2000 and 2003, said council members owe it to the firefighters who died to study the investigative reports and diligently push for all the changes necessary to prevent tragedies.
Fishburne said he deeply regrets the Public Safety Committee wasn't more active in the years leading up to the sofa store fire. He wonders if added attention might have uncovered problems sooner. "If we had been more involved, maybe we wouldn't have had that tragedy," Fishburne said. "I think about that every day."
While the Public Safety Committee's input is valuable, Riley said, it was never intended to have administrative oversight of the day-to-day operations of the police and fire departments. Under the city code, the committee is charged with making recommendations to council on all matters concerning fire, police and emergency management policy and on local ordinances that affect those departments.
The committee's authority was the subject of much debate last May, when then-Chairman Jimmy Gallant called a meeting to discuss a series of controversial promotions and transfers in the fire department. Riley challenged the legality of the meeting and insisted the committee had no say in personnel matters. Gallant resigned from the panel in protest, accusing the mayor of trying to stifle debate. State Attorney General Henry McMaster later offered an unofficial opinion that seemed to support Riley's stance.
The mayor took a more conciliatory stance in the wake of the incident, inviting council members to interview candidates for the chief's job before he made a final selection. Gallant even gave Riley a hug.
But retired Fire Capt. Ricky Koger said Gallant's resignation effectively gelded the committee because it allowed Riley to put Evans, a faithful supporter, at the helm and sideline debate. Riley and Evans called Koger's statement ridiculous.
City Councilwoman Kathleen Wilson, who sits on the Public Safety Committee, said panel members must walk a fine line to keep informed about the police and fire departments without micromanaging and meddling. In the absence of formal meetings, committee members regularly confer with Carr and Police Chief Greg Mullen to keep up to date, she said.
"We have casual conversations with these gentlemen all the time," she said. "We know what's going on."
Randy Hutchinson, a former Charleston firefighter who lost his brother, Capt. Billy Hutchinson, in the Sofa Super Store fire, said Wilson and others on the committee seem to have their hearts in the right place. But employees and citizens need a dedicated forum where they can air concerns about public safety issues. Those concerns get lost in the mix of other issues discussed at City Council meetings, Randy Hutchinson said.
Evans said she has no problem with meeting on a regular basis but wants to make sure there is valid business to discuss, as she doesn't want to distract Mullen and Carr from their busy schedules. "I do agree that it is very important that we as representatives of the city stay connected and know what is happening in these most important areas."
Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.
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MC29461 (anonymous) says...
After all these years in power, Junior Joe feels he is the Alpha and Omega on everything Charleston.
He has handpicked most of the city council and other committee members. Unless he says jump, most council or public safety members are afraid to do anything more than be figureheads.
Everyone talks about electing a new mayor, but Junior Joe visits the housing projects, makes a few promises and gets re-elected time after time.
Best advice to newcomers - live in James Island or Mount Pleasant.
May 17, 2009 at 12:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
maeko (anonymous) says...
srsly...this is the stupidist thing i've ever heard of. a panel that meets maybe once a year and might talk about stuff they are not up-to-date on. what?
May 17, 2009 at 7:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
"There is a general overall concern that the mayor makes all the decisions."
UH DUH? BUT THE FINE PEOPLE OF CHARLESTON KEEP ELECTING HIM. OF COURSE TO YOUR DEFENSE YOU'VE HAD NO OTHER WORTHY OPPONENTS. AT LEAST IN THE LAST ELECTION THAT IS...
May 17, 2009 at 8:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
coastal (anonymous) says...
It seems as though the noble efforts of the firemen to call those out will now raise awareness. I applaud those that took the initiative to publicly voice concerns and ask "where are you as a committee?"
The comment regarding the apathy of the committee which makes one member "think about it everyday" is staggering.
To publicly comment that had you been more active prior to the SSS fire "maybe we wouldn't have had this tragedy"(paraphrasing) is mind blowing.
You have the distinct responsibility to review, recommend, revise, advocate, and push for Charleston's bravest (PD and FD). Instead, you want to give the Chief an opportunity to get accustomed to his new role? Lame excuse. What purpose do you serve then if it is not to aid him and the department in their future endeavors to comply with the standards set forth in the findings of the SSS fire report? Obviously no role. And I'm sorry to inform you, casual conversations don't lay out the in's and out's of a working public safety organization.
You should value the input from the men and women serving in the streets by, at the least, meeting regularly enough to set a tempo for the leadership and rank/file to know you're there.
As a public safety committee you must remember, tragedy can strike anytime these men and women roll out the door in their engines, police units, rescues, or other pieces. Don't wait for something else "to think about everyday".
To the brothers.....KTF and be safe.
May 17, 2009 at 10:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlestt (anonymous) says...
Can't they just put out fires? This article sucks!
May 17, 2009 at 10:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FamilyThatKnowsTheTruth (anonymous) says...
Thanks to Capt. Clinton Jones for speaking up at the last council meeting. In a nutshell, Capt. Jones was just inquiring about the "Safety-less" committee set up and controlled by mayor Joe and their unsafe-less amount of safety meetings. Three of the four members on this safety committee have a clue about issues and would act more if they had some type of control and stated agenda if they might have some laditude to reach out to the city employee's.
City council meetings is a place where numbers of supporters can get an issue out on record but a safety committee meeting should be working in a smaller group where management and employee's can air out concerns about safety issues out of the immediate public eye.
The safety committee chairman, Councilwoman Evans, appears to be sweet lady but always seems to chime with the mayor on just about every issue. We knew when appointed by Joe last June that the safety committee activity potential was over with. Again, time always tells the true story of one's concerns by their actions.
The tradegy of this article is simple, read all of the article comments. No one one the city side of this article seems to get the real issue. It is about safety, not hearing from the dept heads. Safety concerns should come from the inside where the employee's work. The Safety Committee needs some basic operating structure format and have info posted where all city employee's can easily access the scheduled meetings with set times and upcoming meeting issues. Who knew about this once in (10) months meeting? One of the committee members could not make it to the April meeting due to prior to commitments. He is the one who called for the meeting at our request in the first place after the release of the NIOSH report two months prior in February.
Just to give J.Q. Public a small thought, one meeting called since the Routley report and the NIOSH report were released. Really, did you say, Safety Committee? or did you hear, Ole Joe at work?
May 17, 2009 at 10:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FamilyThatKnowsTheTruth (anonymous) says...
Charlestt, is that like TT on the fire. The article does not suck, you are looking in a mirror, you suck. How about just letting the fires burn? It is much safer. Forget about rescuing your dumb ass or your family. Do us all a favor and do not continue to reproduce. Think safety for all of those coming to help your sorry-butt, Charlie-boy.
May 17, 2009 at 11:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BOLICKat10 (anonymous) says...
Hey Charles, skip the article next time. It sucks that Gallant is gone but hey they can't get anything past riley anyway. The fire departments committees meet on the regular and take many proactive approaches to issues, why can't the city committees do the same?
May 17, 2009 at 11:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whatelseisthere (anonymous) says...
Do these people get paid a salary?
May 17, 2009 at 1:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JF (anonymous) says...
Any committee that meets four times in five years is a complete joke! Its too bad there was no oversight pre Super Sofa fire. Fishburne is completely right.
May 17, 2009 at 1:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
whatelseisthere (anonymous) says...
Do they paid or not? You usually get what you pay for.
May 17, 2009 at 2:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bootlicked (anonymous) says...
Just more b/s window dressing put together by cotton-eyed Joe. He can say that he has the safety of his employees in mind because he has a saftey committee. I would be willing to bet he has even told someone that it is the best safety committee in the U.S. especially since his puppet Evans is the chairwomam. If you look back into my post me and others called it before she was appointed. The committee was actually trying to get their stuff together and ask questions. She took over and look what happened.
May 17, 2009 at 7:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bootlicked (anonymous) says...
Riley and Evans called Capt. Kogers comment ridiculous and also said those calling for Rt's resignation ridiculous. See what I mean about Cotton-Eyed- Joe's puppet. I guess she can't think for herself. If either one of them called my comments ridiculous I would be proud. Great job Ricky and Clinton.
May 17, 2009 at 7:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bootlicked (anonymous) says...
While we are on the subject of safety I would be willing to bet your stations are harboring mold and lead paint. I know that they are recieving monies to remove lead paint from Barrack. You would think your safety is as important as the safety of the occupants of other buildings in the city. Just a thought.
May 17, 2009 at 7:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carolinapanther (anonymous) says...
Anybody can be a firefighter thats why there are so many volunteers. I dont understand what the big deal is.
Take a water hose and spray toward fire! Duh!!
Why do fireman always complain? you are getting paid to do a simple job that most people volunteer to do for free.
May 18, 2009 at 1:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carolinapanther (anonymous) says...
If you want to be a real hero try being a police officer! They do their job everyday without complaining about every thing to the newspaper.
May 18, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
FamilyThatKnowsTheTruth (anonymous) says...
Hey C. Panther, just curious, who ever said they wanted to be a "Hero?" You must think you are a "Hero" for sticking up for clowns like Rusty and Joe and his Public Safety Committee chairperson. Please get a real life and allow adults to coverse the facts. Stating facts and complaining are two differents things. Try using some facts for a change, Mr. Hero.
I say what I mean and I mean what I say, and I say you seem to be more like a CarolinaPunk that a Panther. At least a Panther has some sense of direction.
May 18, 2009 at 7:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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