Maddy: Fraud, Harassment & Cover-Up Are Fixable

The Excelsior Fire District’s April 8th public meeting was so contentious the chair opened with a call for decorum. What followed was a 3-2 vote to terminate Fire Chief Curt Mackey for unauthorized self-compensation, lying to the board, ignoring years of gender harassment complaints, and putting racially stereotyped decals on public equipment. Two members voted to retain him with more training. Shorewood city council member, Dustin Maddy, was one of them.

Why It Matters:

That vote pulled back the curtain on a dangerously flawed system. In Shorewood, the fire board representative is selected at the first council meeting of the year — a volunteer is named, the others agree, and that’s it.

• No job description.
• No performance expectations.
• No accountability.

The council bylaws require only that the member regularly attend meetings. Eighteen months of council reports range from “nothing new” to “the new truck has been delivered.” Council questions to the rep are nearly nonexistent. Before April 27th, no meeting minutes were provided. The city administrator Nevinski also attends these meetings and rarely comments on the discussions.

The result: Our appointed council member casting consequential votes — acting on their own, without informing the council, without asking for guidance — on matters carrying serious financial and legal exposure for Shorewood taxpayers. When the firing was publicly announced at the Apr. 27 council meeting, only the city administrator offered: “It’s been a tough week.”

Recommended Improvements:

Among other things, the fire board representative has a responsibility to protect the interests of Shorewood taxpayers byond a rubber stamp. Shorewood should establish these policies for its Fire Board representative, and mayor, who serves on the Police Coordinating Committee.

• Written expectations and a job description for board and police committee representatives;
• Mandatory thorough regular council reporting ;
• Conflict of interest disclosures;
• A process for removal from the fire board position if criteria is not met.*

Presently, Shorewood residents should have no confidence that the representative or city administrator, sitting at that board table, are working for them.

*The police coordinating committee mandates that only the mayor holds the position.

Excelsior FD Chief Fired
Watch the Apr. 8 fire board meeting
Watch KSTP-5 Video