Howard resigns as fire chief after policy disagreement with mayor

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015, 8 p.m. — Bardstown Fire Chief Marlin Howard submitted his resignation Wednesday as the department’s chief in the wake of a disagreement with Mayor John Royalty over the structure of the city’s full-time fire department.

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In a letter dated Wednesday, Oct. 28, Howard writes, “It has become clear that the Mayor’s vision for the operation of the Bardstown Fire Department is far different than my vision as Chief.

“Rather than compromise my ethics by merely accepting what the Mayor has told me to carry out, I am requesting that I be moved to firefighter status with the department so the Mayor can appoint a chief that shares his vision.”

In his letter, Howard asked to remain a member of the city full-time fire department. He said Thursday he would fully support whoever is named chief and offer any help that may be needed during a transition.

Mayor John Royalty told the Nelson County Gazette he told Howard he wanted the fire department to change its structure from four-man duty crews to five-man crews, a move which Royalty said would allow the department to immediately roll two trucks out of the station on emergency calls.

“My goal with five-man teams is to lower the city’s ISO rating and give our residents lower insurance rates,” Royalty said.

Royalty said he didn’t immediately accept Howard’s resignation, and asked him to give the decision some thought.

Howard’s resignation letter makes it clear he disagreed with the changes the mayor and administration have implemented in the fire department structure, and he expressed frustration that his input and experience had little influence on those decisions.

Chief Marlin Howard speaks at a recent Bardstown City Council meeting. (File photo)

“I can not abide by decisions that have vital impact when I do not feel they are in the best interest of the Department or the community, especially when input that I have given as Fire Chief does not seem to have had the significance of the Chief’s position,” Howard wrote.

DIFFERENCES OF OPINION. The full-time department was formed earlier this year with a structure that Howard and his command staff created, based on best practices used at departments of similar size. The department began operating with that structure once it was up to its full staffing of 17 full-time firefighters.

But when the fire department structure and job duties were evaluated by human resource consultant Paul Combs, the cost of the department’s structure became an issue.

Combs, who completed a study this summer of all City Hall job descriptions and pay scales, concluded that with the new fire department, the resulting pay grades would create salary increase totaling more than $27,000.

At the Sept. 8 Bardstown City Council meeting, Councilwoman Kecia Copeland said she was disappointed to learn city employees were getting salaries based on Combs’ study — with the exception of the fire department. Subsequently, the council voted against approving the fire department’s compensation plan.

Howard explained at the Sept. 8 meeting that he and the firefighters agreed not to seek the higher pay rates Combs had recommended in order to keep the department structure intact and affordable. The council’s vote required a revision of the firefighter duties and pay scales.

The department’s structure and job duties were rewritten and brought to the council’s safety committee Monday and then to Tuesday’s council meeting for approved. Howard submitted his resignation letter the next day.

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