WPBFD History

CHAPTER FOURTEEN Ill Winds Blow 1990 to 1991 There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it. William James 1842-1910

fire department. She said, "On January 18, two battalion chiefs visited my office, told me they wrote the memo and requested anonymity out of fear." There were many questions from commissioners about the way City Manager Schutta had been handling the Reese matter. The consensus was that Reese should be fired and not allowed to retire. The commission passed a unanimous motion of "no confidence" in Schutta. The motion also called for the city manager to reconsider his decision to let Reese retire. The issue was now growing, primarily because of Commissioner Pepper's charges. She became a familiar face on television interviews and seemed to relish the public exposure brought about by her crusade. The fact that she was up for re-election in two months also could have played a part. No longer was Reese the primary tar- get; the fire department and city manager were in her sights, too. On January 26 an investigating committee formed by the city manager began interviewing people who might have direct knowledge of the charges made in the anony- mous letter. Sixteen individuals were called to testify, but Reese declined to be interviewed. The committee told those who appeared that the interview was being taped, but the testimonies would be confidential. The results of the investigation were made public on February 2, 1990, and the conclusion of the report read in part: The allegations concerning the conduct and statements attributed to Reese in the letter were substantiated. The majority of the persons interviewed stated that they had heard that R. Hookey and H. But- tery wrote the letter. During his interview, Hookey reluctantly ac- knowledged that he 'participated' in the writing of the letter but refused to elaborate. Buttery was unavailable for interview. On February 2 City Manager Schutta, following the commission's suggestion, officially terminated Reese as of January 22, 1990, at 8:00 a.m. He was charged with "intolerable" conduct. On February 5, 1990, Resolution No. 41-90 was passed by the West Palm Beach City Commission. The resolution established an ad hoc committee of the city commission to be known as the “West Palm Beach Fire

1990 Fire Chief Russell Reese had always walked on the edge. He could appear the model gentleman to a stranger, while those who knew him well saw another side; a man coarse both in speech and mannerisms. Those who worked under Reese learned to avoid him when his bad side showed because they had no other choice. The firefighters' union had tried to head off Reese's appointment to chief by presenting then City Manager Richard Steinbrenner with a list of items to in- vestigate. Reese had been appointed chief anyway. City Manager Ronald Schutta had called Reese on the carpet in the summer of 1989 to inquire about rumors of sexual harassment. Any number of people could have given evi- dence, but were never contacted. Reese survived again. Many wondered why Reese didn't retire. He had more than twenty-nine years service and would receive an ade- quate pension. He also suffered from numerous health problems. On January 9, 1990, anonymous letters were re- ceived by City Manager Schutta, all five city commis- sioners, Police Chief Billy Riggs, and Civil Service Board member Clifford Bridges. The letters made allegations against Fire Chief Russell M. Reese that included his making crude and outrageous statements, obscene ges- tures, and racial remarks. As a result of the letter, Schutta removed Reese from duty on January 22. Chief of Train- ing and Support Donald P. Widing was appointed Interim Chief. Later that day the West Palm Beach City Commis- sion met in regular session. After a lengthy discussion on the fire chief issue, a motion was made "to appoint a Blue Ribbon Committee to review and investigate charges of sexual and racial harassment, which will include repre- sentatives from the NAACP, Women's Legal Society, Executive Women's and other women's groups, the Fire Department, the City Manager's office and one appointee from each City Commissioner." An amendment was later made to include that "the Board make recommendations for improvement to the policies and procedures, bring back concrete proposals and administrative action recom- mendations." In the next commission meeting held January 29, 1990, Commissioner Pat Pepper, whose idea to burn con- demned houses in 1988 had been nixed by Reese, admit- ted to conducting her own investigation of the chief and

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