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Fired Butler Twp. firefighters get jobs back; fire chief on administrative leave

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By Margo Rutledge Kissell, Staff Writer Updated 11:12 PM Saturday, March 20, 2010

BUTLER TWP., Montgomery County – Butler Twp. fire Chief Robert Weiffenbach — whose department has been surrounded by controversy the past two years — has been placed on paid administrative leave.

“This move was made while negotiations are being finalized on a mutually agreeable separation agreement between Weiffenbach and the board,” the township Board of Trustees said in a statement released Saturday, March 20.

The news comes just days after two fired firefighters were offered — and accepted — their jobs back with the fire department. They were among 10 firefighters accused of viewing and/or downloading inappropriate material while on duty.

“In light of several recent court rulings in matters pertaining to an investigation into personnel activities at the fire department in 2008, it is the board’s unanimous agreement to take the fire department in a new direction with new leadership,” the trustees said in the statement released shortly after noon.

Weiffenbach could not be reached for comment.

The trustees — who appointed Assistant Fire Chief Steve Stein as acting fire chief — said they plan to move quickly to finalize contractual obligations with Weiffenbach and hire a new fire chief.

Reached Saturday morning, Trustee Doug Orange wouldn’t comment on Weiffenbach’s status other than to say the statement would be forthcoming. Trustees Mike Lang and Martin Russell, who were elected in November, could not be reached.

Lang is a retired paid-on-call captain with the township’s fire department, where he worked from 1991 to 2006.

The township fire chief operates under an annual employment contract. Weiffenbach’s contract for 2010 was renewed in 2009 by the previous board of trustees.

Weiffenbach became chief in 2005 after serving as assistant chief for many years.

Judge upholds

SERB ruling

On Monday, a Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Connie S. Price upheld a State Employee Relations Board decision to reinstate Butler Twp. firefighters Angela Rice and Richard Nihizer with back pay because they were fired more for their union activities than any improper computer use.

Rice said Saturday she had no comment on Weiffenbach’s placement on paid leave, other than to say, “I’m in shock.”

On Thursday, Rice and Nihizer were offered their jobs back. They’ll return to work the first week of April, said Rice, who is “ecstatic” over that decision.

“We were battling them for two years,” she said.

Rice and Nihizer agreed that anything awarded through the court, including back pay, would be worked out later.

The Oct. 29, 2009, SERB order said Rice, president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4491, and Nihizer, vice president, were due back pay and benefits from Jan. 14, 2008.

On March 10, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear a Butler Twp. appeal in the case of another terminated firefighter, Ralph Bowman.

The Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled Nov. 2 that Bowman should not have been fired for using township computers for personal use during down time at the firehouse because township employees were given “no meaningful guidance” on what was appropriate.

Bowman was a part-time firefighter and emergency medical technician when he was fired in 2008 for engaging in “improper conduct” after a township investigation found he allegedly watched seven violent videos and one that contained sexually explicit language but was not pornographic.

Bowman admitted watching only one video, “Felony Fights,” which he claimed had some training value. He said he had shared his computer password with other firefighters.

No guidance on computer videos

The appellate court said the township did not provide guidance “as to where it drew the line between appropriate and inappropriate content” except for a Code of Ethics, which instructed township employees that they were “bound by the highest standards of morality.”

“In the absence of additional guidance, the Township could not discipline Bowman for accessing legal, nonpornographic videos on the computer, and the trial court abused its discretion in affirming the Trustees’ decision to terminate Bowman,” Judge Jeffrey E. Froelich wrote. Judges James A. Brogan and Mike Fain concurred.

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