Bob Phalan makes his case

Expect Bob Phalan and his supporters to present both practical and legal arguments when they make their case as to why he should be allowed to be both a fire commissioner and a volunteer. Their presentation will take place when commissioners meet Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 a.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall.

Fire commissioners, citing state law that a commissioner can remain a volunteer only if unanimously supported by the local commission, resolved Dec. 3 that Phalan could be one or the other, but not both. Commissioner John Erly recently told The Sounder that he believes the dual role places the commission at risk of a conflict of interest. Erly said he will not change his mind regardless of the case Phalan makes.

But Phalan, who was elected fire commissioner in the November election, will argue that the system works fine in much of Washington State, and therefore should be allowed on Orcas Island.

He is expected to cite Steve Lich, a firefighter for 41 years and the current commission chair on Camano Island. Lich also serves on the board of the Washington State Fire Commission. In that last role, Lich is the boss of Roger Ferris, executive secretary of the Washington State Fire Commissioners Association. Ferris was recently quoted in The Sounder as saying that only in small districts in Eastern Washington does one find volunteers serving as fire commissioners. Ferris said it occurs there because nobody else is willing to run for the position.

But Lich, who phoned The Sounder Jan. 6, said he believes that 60 to 75 percent of the fire commissioners in the state are also volunteers. In Eastern Washington, the number is as high as 90 percent, Lich contended. Lich does acknowledge, however, that his figures are guesses only.

On Camano Island, where Lich has been a volunteer firefighter since 1986, all of the current commissioners at one time performed the dual roles.

Prior to moving to Camano Island, Lich was a firefighter in Whatcom County where, again, he says, most of the commissioners were also volunteers.

Lich said he is unaware of any cases in which a commissioner - volunteer has been accused of a conflict of interest. Moreover, he feels that a commissioner - volunteer is a plus. “It’s good there is someone watching out for the volunteers,” he said.

Lich feels a more likely conflict of interest would involve a fire commissioner selling gas to the fire department. But he does acknowledge the possibility that a commissioner could try to act as the chief and run the department. “That would create some personnel issues,” Lich said.

Another potential problem, said Snohomish County firefighter Bruce McMahan, could arise if the commissioner - volunteer makes a mistake while fighting a fire or providing emergency medical care. “It would put the chief in a difficult position if he had to discipline a volunteer who was also his boss,” he said. McMahan also offered the view that the Orcas controversy wasn’t about conflict of interest. “It’s a matter of “who trusts who,” he said.

Lich doesn’t believe that a chief’s hands would be tied dealing with a commissioner - volunteer. He said, “If the chief has backbone, he will discipline the commissioner or go to the board.” Since there are three commissioners overseeing each department, no one commissioner has any power unless he or she is supported by a colleague.

One man who finds these scenarios hard to believe is Bruce Carmine, a fire commissioner on North Whidbey Island for 25 years, 10 of them while serving as a volunteer.

Carmine said conflicts of interest never arose during his years on the board because, “A fire commissioner’s job is to serve the entire community, not just the department or a branch of the department.”

Carmine also noted that a commissioner - volunteer is making a sacrifice because, by law, he is not allowed to accept the small stipend volunteers receive when they attend training sessions and go out on call.

Phalan estimates that he received about $1,200 from the department last year for training and calls. If he is allowed to perform both roles, he will have to forego compensation.

Meanwhile, Phalan has spoken to an attorney who has advised him that the Orcas Island Fire Department’s Jan. 13, 1998 resolution allowing commissioners to remain volunteers constituted department policy at the time of the November 2001 election. Phalan said his attorney’s view is that that the law “doesn’t say you can change it at any time.”

But Erly has a different interpretation. State law reads that local fire commissioners must give their unanimous consent to such an arrangement. Erly believes the law can be invoked at any time.

Should Phalan fail to get commissioners to change their mind, he will have to decide whether to be a commissioner, or a volunteer, but not both. He is also exploring the possibility of taking his case to court.

— Ted Grossman is editor of islandssounder.com and The Islands’ Sounder. He can be reached at (360) 376-4500 or email.

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