Fire commissioners for Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue approved a separation agreement with Fire Chief Brad Martin that will give the departing chief a severance package that includes two-month’s salary.
Martin’s existing contract with the fire department was approved in 2018 and was set to expire at the end of August. He is paid a salary of $125,000 a year; two month’s pay is roughly $20,800.
Martin was appointed chief in 2012, but has been dogged by controversy over the past year.
The union representing firefighters took a “vote of no confidence” in Martin last September — the first ever by IAFF Local 3811— and raised multiple areas of concern over his helming of the department. The union’s leadership said the chief had failed “to lead this department effectively and has demonstrated an unwillingness and an inability to provide the leadership necessary to strategically lead Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue.”
The union referenced “a litany of issues” that contributed to the lack of confidence in Martin, but major factors included Martin’s resistance to conducting strategic planning and “the alarming loss of career members through resignation, not due to retirement, but to pursue career positions with other agencies in our immediate area.”
IAFF Local 3811 said the lack of planning in the department was a primary factor in the departure of five career firefighters in the previous two years. At the time, Martin said the union complaint was without merit.
Martin has been on non-disciplinary paid administrative leave since May 3.
At their board meeting Thursday, Port Ludlow fire commissioners agreed to keep Martin on the payroll on administrative leave through Aug. 31, the end date of his existing contract.
Commissioners also decided to extend Martin’s health benefits for two months.
According to the five-page separation agreement, the departing chief will be paid for unused vacation and personal leave on his final payroll date.
The vote on the separation agreement was 4-1, with Fire Commissioner Ed Davis voting “no.”
The contract also contains a release from future claims against the Port Ludlow department from Martin.
The separation agreement notes, as well, that the fire district is looking to sign a contract for fire chief services with “a neighboring agency,” adding, “as a possible step toward future consolidation.”
Interim Chief Gary Kavanagh, a volunteer firefighter with Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue, has been leading the department since fire commissioners placed Martin on leave.
Fire commissioners have been in talks with East Jefferson Fire Rescue in recent months about an interlocal agreement that would see East Jefferson handle administrative and management services for Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue.
Port Ludlow would pay East Jefferson $175,000 a year under a draft version of the interlocal.
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June 26, 2021 at 01:07AM
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Port Ludlow fire commissioners OK severance package for chief - Port Townsend Leader
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