WILLS POINT, Texas — A majority of the volunteer firefighters assigned to the Wills Point Volunteer Fire Department servicing Van Zandt County Emergency Services District (ESD) No. 4 walked out of a board meeting last night in protest of the board's 4-1 vote of no confidence in its chief, Ed Leipply.
WILLS POINT, Texas — A majority of the volunteer firefighters assigned to the Wills Point Volunteer Fire Department servicing Van Zandt County Emergency Services District (ESD) No. 4 walked out of a board meeting last night in protest of the board's 4-1 vote of no confidence in its chief, Ed Leipply.
On Wednesday morning, ESD No. 4 Secretary and Public Information Officer Ken Byrd told inForney.com neighboring departments, through mutual aid agreements, and some of the remaining volunteers have stepped up to the plate to fill the void and ensure continued fire protection to their district.
Byrd, the only board member to not place a vote of no confidence, says his hope is the volunteer firefighters will return to the station to continue serving the citizens of their district.
"It is my hope that they come back," he said. "The door is open."
The department plans to name an interim chief before the week’s end, he said.
“We regret that the Tuesday meeting was contentious,” Byrd stated. “Because some of the information involved personnel matters, the board is prohibited by state law from disclosing such matters.”
“The ESD4 has a contract with the Wills Point Volunteer Fire Department to provide fire service to the district,” stated Byrd. “Over a period of several months the terms of that contract were not being kept by the VFD so the board asked for a change in leadership.”
Byrd says he holds no animosity towards the chief or firefighters.
“[Leipply] is a great guy, as straight an arrow as they come,” he said.
Leipply was instrumental in rallying the citizens’ vote to establish the emergency services district in 2015. The district serves approximately 150 square miles from the Kaufman County line, to State Highway 243, and nearly to Lake Tawakoni.
Several volunteer fire department members, family, and community members spoke on Leipply’s behalf on Tuesday night before the board’s vote detailing Leipply’s continued dedication to the community, its fire service, and his great leadership.
The firefighters’ loyalty to their chief is something Byrd says he can admire but hopes their loyalty to the citizens of their district will prevail.
Board member Joe Arnold, in a statement, further describes the vote of no confidence in part, by stating, it “was not a knee-jerk reaction.”
“Over a long period of time, the managerial choices of the chief regarding budgetary accountability, equipment readiness, and safety of our firefighters raised concerns of board members,” he said.
Arnold says he understands the frustrations exhibited by the Wills Point Volunteer Fire Department but says, pending an optional appeals process, the board’s legal counsel has advised the board to not further discuss the details of the dismissal.
The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office, which dispatches for the fire department, was notified of the possible vote before it took place on Tuesday night, according to Byrd. Additionally, the Elmo Volunteer Fire Department, Edgewood Volunteer Fire Department, and South Vandt County Volunteer Fire Department were also notified in case of mutual aid.
Byrd says the board is calling on all volunteer firefighters to check in with the department and make their intentions known as they move forward and to allow the department to update its roster. Several of its volunteer firefighters were at the station earlier today and a call for new volunteers is being made, he said.
The board received criticism on social media with residents concerned the board voted to disband the entire department and discontinue service.
Byrd said those accusations just aren’t true and the department stands ready to continue serving the district.
The decision still, however, leaves area residents uneasy.
