By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
KINGSVILLE TOWNSHIP — A majority of Kingsville Township trustees voted to dismiss Fire Chief Richard “Chip” Laugen at a special meeting Tuesday night.
The 2-1 vote to fire the chief culminated weeks of investigation into several allegations of misconduct and unprofessional behavior. Trustees Darrell Ensman and Dennis Huey voted to terminate Laugen, while Doug Reed said no.
The vote was played out before a crowd shoehorned into the trustees’ little meeting room inside the township fire hall. Questions and comments from the crowd were not permitted, and the entire session was completed in less than 30 minutes.
Afterward, Laugen had little to say on the matter.
“You couldn’t print what I want to say,” he said.
His attorney, Leo Talikka, said he was “shocked” by the outcome and said the termination will be appealed to Common Pleas Court.
Originally, 14 separate allegations aimed at Laugen were presented to trustees. Two more complaints surfaced during testimony heard during Laugen’s disciplinary hearing, Huey said.
Laugen was placed on paid administrative leave in September pending investigation of the charges.
Huey read the trustees’ findings on each of the allegations. Some were found to be baseless, and others did not require discipline, trustees said. Some, however, did have merit, and two of the complaints were serious enough to exceed the township’s normal progressive discipline policy, Huey said.
The first of the two alleged Laugen hid a surveillance camera in the fire office without trustees’ approval or the knowledge of department members. Images taken by the camera, which trustees consider to be public records, were sent to Laugen’s personal e-mail account but later destroyed by the chief, according to the trustees. Laugen, during his hearing, testified he did install the camera and transmitting and destroyed the images, according to the report. Laugen also testified he had permission from Reed to install the camera
The second allegation was a claim that two longtime firefighters lacked Ohio certification yet were paid as certified firefighters and became officers in the department. The men have since obtained their certification, Huey said.
Laugen testified during his hearing that a department officer was supposed to make sure the men had obtained their state certification.
The last two allegations — ones that surfaced during the hearing — claimed Laugen’s wife, Linda, removed emergency medical service records from the station without authorization and took them home with the knowledge of her husband. The action resulted in a complaint to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy.
The other was a complaint that Laugen had remote access to the fire office computer, a claim Laugen denied.
After the meeting, Talikka said he and Laugen just had learned of the last two allegations.
“The first I’ve heard of it was today,” he said. “I have no idea what records they are talking about. How can you add on charges (at the last minute) and expect us to defend on it?”
Reed said he would have no immediate comment on his dissenting vote.
Huey said Neal Stewart, the township’s road superintendent, would continue as acting fire until a replacement is found.
“We haven’t crossed that bridge yet,” Huey said.
