Fired without warning or explanation and then escorted off city property, former McMinnville Fire Chief Kevin Lawrence believes the city was heartless in the way he was terminated.
Lawrence even had to catch a ride since his city car was taken away leaving him no way to get home.
“I was at the human resources office and city administrator David Rutherford walks in and hands me some papers and says that my services are no longer needed by the city of McMinnville effective immediately,” said Lawrence during an interview at the office of his attorney, Michael Galligan. “I was stunned. I asked why and he said it was an at-will firing and then walked away.”
Lawrence said he was then walked back to his office by a human resources employee where he was supervised as he picked up his private possessions.
“I had been with the city for 25 years, eight months, with over 11 of those as chief,” said Lawrence, noting he was terminated without severance pay or even an explanation of why he was being let go. “I had to catch a ride home since I had come to work in my city vehicle.”
As he rode home, Lawrence texted friend and city Alderman Billy Wood trying to find out what had happened. In saved text messages between him and Wood, Lawrence revealed the city official claimed to know nothing about his firing.
In the text, Lawrence tells Wood he would have liked to have had a “heads up” before the firing and the text, said to be from Wood, said he had “just found out” about the firing. Lawrence responded he thought such a termination had to go through the city board, to which Wood responded there had been talk about perhaps getting rid of “half a dozen other people” but Lawrence had not been among those employees.
In a recent interview with the Standard, Wood questioned some of his fellow board members denying knowledge of the firing. Wood pointed out Rutherford would not make such a move without board approval.
While wondering who knew what before his termination, Lawrence strongly believes it was Rutherford who had it in for him due to clashes over various issues involving the fire department.
“Rutherford had been trying to push me out for over a year,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence indicated he and Rutherford had issues about wanting to close Fire Station 2, had a clash over a federal grant he had obtained for the Fire Department, and Rutherford’s desire to end the first-responder program.
“There are four people I see on the streets almost every day who would be dead right now if it weren’t for the first-responder program,” Lawrence said, noting the program saves lives and does not cost much to run. “He gave me hell over the first-responders.”
The last clash was over a proposed physical fitness program which Lawrence believes Rutherford was using to try to run him off since he knows Lawrence has a bad back.
“One of the tests was to run up six stories in 30 seconds and I pointed out that in McMinnville, by ordinance, a building can’t be over five stories tall,” Lawrence said, noting Rutherford got mad when he heard Lawrence had told his men about the planned fitness requirements. “I have back issues and haven’t fought a fire in 15 years. There was going to be a requirement I had to go through it too, but after I was let go the requirements became a lot less. It was all a method to get rid of me.”
As for his feelings about his termination, Lawrence said it was the wrong way to treat a longtime, loyal employee.
“It makes me mad,” Lawrence admitted, noting he has no present employment plans, although his days are still full with volunteer duties such as being fire chief of Viola Fire Department, as well as serving as mayor of Viola.
Lawrence blames Rutherford for his firing even though there are questions about how much the city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen knew.
“Rutherford manipulates the board,” Lawrence said, noting his absence at a seminar drew the ire of Alderman Clair Cochran just before he was fired. “Clair chewed me out for not being there.”
It was right after his admonishment by Cochran sources say Lawrence’s employment was brought up during an executive session which was supposed to be used solely for considering the settlement of the city-county sales tax lawsuit. However, sources say a straw poll was held and most elected officials in attendance agreed to Lawrence’s firing.
Galligan said there could be legal action taken against the city for its unwarranted firing of the longtime chief.
“It appears if you disagree with Rutherford there begins a series of actions that make the person’s job miserable,” said Galligan, noting two department heads have left in the past few years.
Galligan also wonders what kind of message the firing sends to other city employees.
“There seems to be a total lack of humanity,” Galligan said. “What would have been the harm of giving him a little warning and maybe giving him the option of resigning? This just shows a great insensitivity to the people of McMinnville.”
McMinnville Fire Department is presently under the guidance of Police Chief Bryan Denton pending the appointment of a new fire chief.