By Gail Peckler-Dziki/Correspondent
Last month, the majority of the Silver Lake Village Board turned up their noses at the Silver Lake fire department choice of a new chief and broke with an 87-year tradition that allowed the fire department to select its own chief.
The Silver Lake Fire Association contends that tradition is not the only thing that the Silver Lake Village Board broke.
The Association has hired an attorney, John Kiel, and he faxed a letter of demand to the village hall on July 11.
That letter states that the appointment of Dave Kordecki as SLFD fire chief by the village board was unlawful according to Wisconsin statutes and the SLFD by-laws.
Last month, SLFD came ready with their choice of Allie Draeger, who has been part of the SLFD for over a year, as the new chief. Both previous chiefs, Andy McFarlane and Roger Pattie, resigned recently. Draeger has seven years experience as a fire fighter prior to Silver Lake.
But the village board didn’t consider that vote from the firefighters. Instead, village trustee and chair of emergency services Roger Johnson put forth his choice of Kordecki amid protests from firefighters.
When asked if the board had the authority to appoint, village attorney Linda Gray said that they did.
SLFD Association attorney disagrees and alleges that state statutes fives the members of the SLFD the power to elect their chief, the SLFD by-laws state that the chief is an elected position within the department and S61-01 of the SLFD Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) establish the process by which individuals apply for and become members of the department, Under this process, the board may not unilaterally appoint.
The letter demands that the village immediately inform Kordecki that his appointment as SLFD chief is void because it is illegal and that the Allison Draeger be confirmed as SLFD fire chief at the next village board meeting.
The letter goes on to state that if this demand is not met in five business days, Kiel has been directed to “petition the Kenosha County Circuit Court for an alternative writ of mandamus to compel the village…to terminate Mr. Kordecki or show cause why they should not do so…”