A tense meeting of the Washington Fire Board erupted into chaos and confusion last night. Peoria Public Radio's Alex Rusciano reports the issue was whether to renew Fire Chief Mike Vaughn's contract for the job:
Vaughn's contract is set to automatically renew at the end of the month for three years. But that's because no other votes were possible after board member Brian Barron walked out of the meeting after another motion was made to not renew Vaughn's contract, ending the quorum. Barron says he hopes the board members can hammer out a new contract with Vaughn:
“Nothing is guaranteed. I mean we could come to a stalemate negotiating with chief Vaughn. But my ultimate goal would be to try to get something settled that both the board and chief Vaughn can agree to. Because I feel the public feels very strongly towards chief Vaughn.”
Residents also repeatedly spoke out against the fire board for allowing two members to informally vote on Vaughn's contract last month, even though their terms expired last year. Fire Board Vice President Ken Klotz called that an oversight. Barron also says he was asked to vote on the board prior to joining in February. It's unclear if the board will meet before the end of the month.