While the Hollister fire union and city manager have traded public claims in the aftermath of the association’s no-confidence vote against him and Fire Chief Fred Cheshire, some council members stressed the need to keep talks civil and, preferably, behind closed doors.
The Hollister Firefighters Association in May passed the no-confidence vote against City Manager Clint Quilter and Cheshire. Along with a detailed summary of allegations against the two, the union also suggested the city should fire Cheshire. Association leaders made the no-confidence vote public in early June, setting off a response from Quilter and, last week, another rebuttal from the union.
The public barbs came in light of continued financial problems for Hollister, which has faced multimillion deficits in recent years and could have to fill a $3.5 million shortfall come next spring – if city voters reject a proposal to extend the temporary 1 percent sales tax on the November ballot.
Fire Union President Vince Grewohl, in his initial seven-page letter, accused Quilter and Cheshire of multiple actions or inaction ranging from contract violations to misconduct, harassment and retaliation.
Regarding the union’s contention it has absorbed an unequal share of cuts in recent years, Quilter wrote as part of his response that it reflected a “total lack of perspective” from the association. Quilter wrote that the fire department had felt the least impact with staffing since 2004, dropping from 27 to 23.5 positions. The union’s latest statement last week then went point by point in response to Quilter.
Councilman Ray Friend, for one, believes such communication should remain private. Talks among government bodies and employee groups, of course, are traditionally held outside the public eye. With the city facing a $3 million-plus deficit without a Measure E sales tax extension on the November ballot – and an “austerity plan” in place to cut seven firefighters in the event it fails – tensions have been on the rise, as displayed between the union and manager.
“They must feel that they’re at that point where they don’t have any recourse other than that,” Mayor Ray Friend said. “I disagree with that. I think it should’ve been done more privately.”
He went on: “They went public so there’s nothing we can do about it. I don’t agree with the tactics.”
Friend said he expected city officials and fire union leaders to sit and talk out their differences. For Friend, there are still some “open questions” regarding the fire union’s claims.
“I do owe them to sit down and listen to the remaining grievances,” he said.
Councilman Robert Scattini said the union is “right in a lot of ways” but also said he did not “know enough about” the allegations. As for the public statements in recent weeks, Scattini said there are “different ways to approach that.”
“If it was me, I would’ve handled it differently,” Scattini said.
Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia underscored how the communications from the two sides have included confidential information. She said she expected Quilter and the fire union president, Grewohl, to meet soon over the matter.
She didn’t have a strong opinion on the public dialogue between the two sides.
“It’s really hard to say what the community’s take is on it,” Valdivia said, adding how the items mentioned in the documents are difficult for everyday residents to dissect.
“Nobody has emailed me, called me concerning that,” she said.
Grewohl, on the other hand, said no city officials have communicated with the union since it announced the no-confidence vote. He said he would have expected a call by this point.
“Given the magnitude of what happened, you would think somebody would have called us,” he said.
Friend and Scattini, meanwhile, agreed with Quilter that the fire department has not been subject to more reductions than other departments.
Friend noted that the fire department was told to cut 12 percent from its budget, while others have been cut by as much as 50 percent, he contended. When asked which departments were cut that much, Friend pointed to major reductions to the recreation department and the maintenance division of public works.
“All departments are taking a hit,” he said.
In the fire union’s rebuttal to the Quilter letter, it contended that the department actually as 22.5 personnel – not 23.5 as Quilter said – and that the department remains “severely understaffed” for a community of this size.
“Honestly, we just feel as a department – we just feel the citizens deserve better,” Grewohl said.
