Several Augusta firefighters attended the Augusta Commission on Tuesday to petition the body to reject the current finalist for fire chief, DeKalb County Deputy Fire Chief Antonio Burden, and to start the recruitment process over.
Daniel Steele, vice president of the Augusta Professional Firefighters Local 3357, spoke on behalf of the organization.
Steele, a 22-year veteran of the force, praised the leadership skills of Interim Fire Chief Shaw Williams and insisted that the public would not be in any danger if the commission took more time and due diligence in finding a proper replacement for the retired former chief, Chris James.
According to Steele, the members of the firefighters union have watched the selection process and the lack of transparency has them concerned.
“For such a high profile job, transparency should be utmost in mind,” Steele told the commission. “The hiring process has been secret and it has been devastating to our morale and our trust.”
Steele referenced emails published by The Augusta Press between Augusta City Administrator Odie Donald and Human Resources Director Anita Rookard which clearly showed that Donald requested Burden’s name be added to the list of possible finalists against the recommendation of the recruiting firm, GovHR.
“How did this guy become the final candidate when he is clearly not what the city needs?” Steele asked the commission.
After the five minute presentation, no commissioner responded from the dais, cementing in Steele’s mind that the process of selection was rigged from the start.
“I won’t be surprised if they continue to follow this direction,” Steele said. “I suspect the same backdoor dealing that the city is notorious for.”
Some commissioners did speak up afterwards and give their thoughts on the matter. District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson backed Donald’s decision to move Burden to the top of the list despite his rated status as being unqualified.
“He’s smart (Donald) and I support him,” Johnson said. “We need a fire chief, period. We need a professional in that office and we need to let the process handle itself.”
District 10 Commissioner John Clarke and District 3 Commissioner Catherine Smith McKnight both held their ground, insisting that they will not vote in favor of a selection process shrouded in secrecy.
“They can continue this all they want and my vote will still be no, (Burden) is not the person for the job. He was not even considered worth mentioning by the recruitment firm and I will not vote for him,” Clarke said.
McKnight echoed the same sentiments and said that she believes commissioners are elected by the public to be the leaders when it comes to hiring critical positions such as fire chief.
“I just got elected, so I am new to all of this, but I can tell you the process has left a bad taste in my mouth,” McKnight said. “All I was given to review were resumes, if you could even call them that, more like one page bios. We need to be involved in picking the final candidates, that’s what we were elected to do.”
Scott Hudson is the Editorial Page Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
