Impeachment charges against suspended Hannibal Fire Chief Tim Carter accuse him of fraud, dishonesty, an inability to follow orders and oppression of subordinates.
The two-page document featuring three individual charges was released Wednesday afternoon.
It claims Carter’s actions meet the city charter criteria for ousting the 17-year Fire Department veteran for dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer.
City Councilmen and Fire Board members Jason Janes and Barry Louderman, who voted last Nov. 5 to put Carter on paid administrative leave, filed the impeachment last week.
“There’s nothing new there that I wasn’t expecting,” Carter said Wednesday after reviewing the charges.
Carter declined to be specific, but said he was “confident in what I’m doing.”
“I cannot walk away from my career with good conscience with a cloud of suspicion overhanging me,” he said. “Win, lose or draw, I’m doing the right thing.”
Louderman and Janes were equally confident that their decision to seek impeachment was proper.
“I feel this is the way we should go and I’ll stand behind it,” Louderman, the current Fire Board chairman, said Wednesday.
“I think the charges read for themselves,” added Janes, who was Fire Board chairman when Carter was disciplined. “I want to give the chief every opportunity to answer them before I say anything.”
City Attorney James F. Lemon, who will prosecute the impeachment, agreed.
“I believe impeachment is appropriate based upon the facts that have been presented to me,” Lemon said.
Carter’s attorney, Neil F. Maune, declined to discuss specifics of the case.
“There’s a time and a place for us to address these issues,” Maune said. “I don’t want this case tried in the paper.”
Mayor Roy Hark and the City Council will hold an impeachment hearing at 6 p.m. March 23 at City Hall. Carter also has asked for a separate administrative hearing before a municipal judge.
Carter repeated his belief Wednesday that the impeachment was retaliation for his decision to seek an administrative hearing. Janes and Louderman have denied the accusation.
Following are the specific accusations, as printed in the charges of impeachment. Unless placed in brackets, all wording is a direct quote:
Charge 1:
“That Chief Carter has committed acts of fraud or dishonesty in connection with his official duties, including:
*During a meeting of the Fire Board, Chief Carter told the Fire Board that he was unable to prevent the removal of asbestos tiles during the renovation of Fire Station 3 because he had no knowledge that the tiles were being removed, when in fact he was present during the removal of said tiles.
*Chief Carter disclosed to Missouri DNR (Department of Natural Resources) that he had no knowledge of tiles being contained under the carpet in the KHQA building, however this was not true. On the date the firefighters were sent to remove the carpeting, Chief Carter was advised the tile was coming up along with the carpet. Chief Carter then directed the firefighters to remove the tile.
*Chief Carter was aware that other tiles throughout the (KHQA) building contained asbestos contamination, which was found during the initial inspection. However, he failed to disclose the potential danger to the firefighters at the time he instructed them to remove the tile which was under the carpeting in the said KHQA building.
*That Chief Carter applied for a federal grant to renovate the KHQA building, in which grant application he made multiple statements which were fraudulent and factually incorrect, and purported to have the authority to commit substantial matching funds, when such authority did not exist.
Charge 2:
That Chief Carter has committed the offense of willful refusal to perform the lawful order of his superior, such acts of refusal including:
*Chief Carter was specifically instructed by the Fire Board that he was to hold weekly staff meetings and issue minutes of meetings within two days of each meeting, yet Chief Carter failed to take such action on a regular and ongoing basis.
*Chief Carter was specifically instructed by the Fire Board to improve communications with fire department personnel and his officers, but took actions which were not reasonably calculated to effectuate such order, and caused hostility and anger in the fire department personnel and officers.
Charge 3:
That Chief Carter has committed oppression in office, such acts of oppression including:
*That Chief Carter put firefighters in harms way during the renovation of the KHQA building. Chief Carter had knowledge that asbestos contamination existed in the KHQA building. Without requiring specific testing of the additionally discovered tiles under the carpeting, he specifically directed his firefighters to remove tiles and mastic without providing proper safety gear. Further, he provided scrapers for their use in a manner which had the potential to cause friable fibers to become airborne.
*That Chief Carter put firefighters in harms way during the renovation of Station 3. Chief Carter stood by while asbestos and mastic which he had good cause to suspect might contain asbestos was improperly removed while firefighters were present and exposed to potentially harmful dust.”
Background:
The KHQA building referred to in the charges is the CBS affiliate’s former television studio at 2333 Palmyra Road.
The station’s parent company donated the studio to the fire department for use as an administrative building. It had been vacant since December 2007, and was first inspected in July 2008.
DNR did an inspection of the KHQA building in January 2009 and returned seven months later to look over the renovation of Fire Station 3 at 3300 Arapaho.
In both cases, the department was cited for not having adequate asbestos inspections done before work began.
Firefighter Dale DeLaPorte, who was working at Fire Station 3 when the floor tiles were removed and said he was involved in the KHQA building cleanup, cited concerns to the Courier-Post about his co-workers’ health at both facilities.
At the time, Carter told the newspaper that health was a primary concern. He added that DNR said the asbestos was non-friable and was abated correctly at Fire Station 3 and that abatement contractors were hired by the department to clean up the asbestos at the former TV studio.
Samples found the fiber content within permissible federal limits.
On Tuesday night, the City Council agreed to pay a $1,000 fine to Marion County schools as part of a settlement with DNR for violating state asbestos guidelines.
What’s next:
All eyes now turn to the March 23 hearing.
However, the date could be changed if a judge cannot be found and if Maune requests more time to review the charges.
Municipal Judge Fred Cruse already has indicated he plans to withdraw from Carter’s administrative hearing due to a conflict of interest, so he could do the same for the impeachment hearing.
Hark and City Councilmen Jim Behymer, Lou Barta, Kevin Knickerbocker and Jeff Lyng will vote on whether to keep or oust Carter. At least three votes are required for impeachment.
Janes and Louderman can attend and testify, but are not allowed by city charter to vote.
Carter, 39, was appointed chief in September 2006. He continues to receive more than $5,700 a month in salary and benefits.
Under terms of his administrative leave, Carter would be paid through Dec. 1, 2010, then resign and receive a full pension.
If he is impeached, he will be fired immediately and lose his pension.
