Former Selkirk Fire Department treasurer and volunteer firefighter Howard Shafer has filed an appeal in Albany County Court after he was ousted from the company in November.
Shafer, a Selkirk resident and former Albany County legislator, was charged with insubordination, violation of the department’s code of conduct and going outside the chain of command before the department’s Board of Commissioners and a hearing officer.
In the appeal, Shafer’s lawyer argues his client was deprived of a fair hearing, most of the charges do not appear to be misconduct and the expulsion was not supported by substantial evidence.
“The charges are so minor or so petty it’s amazing,” said Shafer’s attorney, Lawrence Schaefer.
Shafer was the subject of a disciplinary hearing before the department’s Board of Fire Commissioners in September.
Selkirk Fire Department Co. 1 Chief Josh Therrien accused Shafer of refusing to follow the orders of superiors and of failing to turn over department equipment and records after he was taken off of active duty because of an injury.
The appeal argues Shafer, an 11-year veteran of the department, was in good standing with the department and upon beginning his job as treasurer, quickly found issues and problems with the record keeping from past treasurers. According to the court documents, Therrien said Shafer immediately “did a pretty good job assessing what was wrong,” and all treasury materials were returned when Shafer was asked to leave.
The appeal states Shafer was not given a fair and impartial trial in accordance with the fire district’s bylaws because Joe Keller, the past chairman of the departments Board of Commissioners, is the father-in-law of the hearing officer, and that relationship created a conflict of interest.
Shafer’s attorney said the majority of the charges against his client were not misconduct issues. He referenced charges like using all capital letters in department emails, “pestering” Therrien for the mail and raising issues with salting of the parking lots. Shafer asserts the capitalizations were to emphasize certain statements in emails. He also needed the mail to pay bills on time and wanted to make the parking lot safe for pedestrians, he said.
“The charges in the present case do not involve monetary loss, larceny, bribery or sabotage,” the appeal reads. “Indeed, as discussed above, the charges include facts as petty as the fact Mr. Shafer used capital letters in emails.”
In the appeal, Shafer alleges other members of the Selkirk Fire Department have engaged in “significant misconduct which went completely undisciplined.”
Shafer testified to an incident where strippers were brought into the firehouse, “resulting in a fight which had to be broken up by police,” a fireman drinking while driving and crashing a fire company vehicle into a pole and an incident where a fireman pulled someone over using their blue lights.
“None of these incidents warranted any formal discipline by Commissioner Joseph Keller, yet Mr. Shafer’s alleged misconduct warrants expulsion. That fact demonstrates that Mr. Shafer was treated unfairly and unequally,” reads the appeal.
The evidence of these alleged incidents offered up in the appeal is Shafer’s own testimony at the September disciplinary hearing.
Shafer slipped on black ice at the station in January of 2011 and injured his shoulder. A worker’s compensation claim stated the injury would require surgery, but Shafer acquired a doctor’s note clearing him for active duty. The matter apparently resulted in disagreement between Shafer and Therrien that went on chiefly through emails.
Therrien described Shafer’s emails as “harassment” at the hearing. Shafer responded he was merely “passionate about the issue of safety and the department’s policy on injuries.”
Shafer’s appeal argues the hearing conclusions are not supported by substantial evidence and Therrien’s testimony is not enough to result in expulsion.
Shafer is seeking to be reinstated within company and to the position of treasurer. He is also asking the Board of Fire Commissioners declare it “abused its discretion and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner” when expelling him.
John Ciavardoni, an attorney for the Board of Fire Commissioners, said “the board doesn’t comment on personnel matters or pending litigation.”
Howard Shafer could not re reached for comment.
The matter is to be heard in an Albany County court on March 16.
