Firefighter bonus probe to be made public

By DAVID RYAN
Register City Editor

American Canyon City Attorney Bill Ross said the city has decided to make public a so-far-secret report regarding controversial American Canyon firefighter bonuses, but Ross could not say exactly when the report will be released.

Ross said the results of a second investigation into firefighter bonuses in the American Canyon Fire Protection District will be made public as soon as the affected employees and the local firefighters union allow it to be.

“I don’t have an idea about time,” he said. “That’s kind of up to the other side.”

Ross said the “other side” meant affected employees and the union.

The report has become a hot potato politically because the fire chief at the time the bonuses were issued, Keith Caldwell, is running in a closely-contested race for the Napa County Board of Supervisors against former Napa County Sheriff Gary Simpson.

Last month the American Canyon City Council, which also serves as the board of the fire district, voted 3-2 not to release the report, citing attorney-client privilege. Again relying on attorney-client privilege, the city declined to reveal who voted to conceal the report.

The report is expected to contain information about educational bonus pay given to firefighters who used Almeda University, an unaccredited institution that took “life experience” as a major qualification for a degree. It is the second city probe of the controversy. The first revealed that the bonuses were made available on Caldwell’s watch, but that he did not benefit financially.

The decision not to release the second report immediately came under attack, with critics contending that members of the council who support Caldwell’s candidacy wanted to protect him from potential fallout.

Caldwell also called for release of the report.

Separately, the Napa Valley Register sent two letters demanding the release of the report under the Public Records Act. The newspaper has threatened to take the fire district to court if the report is not released.

On Monday, Ross said the board of the American Canyon Fire Protection District would release the report “when those discussions with the firefighters are concluded.”

An Oct. 23 letter from Ross to the city council said “district staff and counsel were instructed to release the second independent review of the educational incentive issue for the fire district, subject to the preservation of applicable privileges, upon conclusion of the discussions of the matter with district firefighters.”

Ross said some parts of the report could be redacted to protect the privacy of the affected employees.

The firefighters union, Fire Fighters local 1186, did not return phone calls seeking comment. Kurt Henke, president of the union, is out of the office until next week.

On Tuesday, Roger Myers, the Register’s San Francisco-based attorney, took issue with Ross’ comments.

“I think it's a violation of the Public Records Act for the city of American Canyon to give third parties unlimited amount of time and discretion of what is going to be released,” he said. “It's a public record. (The release) should happen right away, not at some indefinite time.”

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009