Morton’s Board of Supervisors voted out its longtime fire chief Monday after he violated two municipal codes.
Trustees voted unanimously to fire Joe Kelley as director of fire and emergency services after he moved outside the village limits last month and failed to drive his village-assigned vehicle, also a violation of municipal code.
Village President Jeffrey Kaufman made the decision to fire Kelley on Aug. 29 and announced his decision at their Sept. 3 board meeting. A yes-no vote on reinstatement, required to complete the state-mandated, two-step process for firing or reinstating municipal employees, was postponed until Monday’s meeting. All six trustees voted no to Kelley’s reinstatement.
Kaufman said Kelley had sold his home to move 45 miles (72 kilometers) outside of town, but indicated Kelley wanted to remain fire chief.
“He’s a decent man,” Kaufman said. “He left on good terms (but) it was a safety situation. We need to have the fire chief in town. If we have a multi-vehicle accident or anything, we need to have our fire chief.”
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When asked where exactly Kelley had moved, Kaufman declined to comment.
Kelley had worked for the village since 1995 and had been the city’s fire chief since 1999.
Justin Hale, a division chief who has served in his role since January 2023, will serve as interim fire chief. He said he plans to run for the full-time position.
“I look forward to having a great working relationship with our volunteers in the future,” Hale said. “I feel like I have a good working knowledge of our department. Having been a volunteer myself before becoming a full-time firefighter, I think we’re going to move our department in the right direction.”
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The village plans to appoint the next full-time village leader at its next board meeting on October 7. Kaufman said they are specifically looking for someone who is qualified as a paramedic and willing to work full-time on the first shift.
“We’re going to be running our own fire department on the first shift,” Kaufman said. “We’re going to be full-time on the first shift, so (we’re going to be looking for) someone who is qualified to do that.”
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Morton votes to fire its fire chief after two municipal violations
