Beach fire chief passes tests/ back on duty
Fort Myers Beach Fire Chief Mike Becker, who has been on paid administrative leave for over a month, is back to work after an informal investigation determined no wrong doing and two examinations cleared him to be fit for duty. Becker’s first action was to sign an executive order to make Darren White the assistant chief. White was acting fire chief during Becker’s absence when Assistant Chief Larry Evans, who took over the fire chief duties Oct. 20, retired Nov. 13.
Becker was placed on leave by the FMB Board of Fire Commissioners at their regular monthly meeting Oct. 20, after being put under an immediate informal investigation at a special meeting Oct. 15 due to allegations by the local fire union and an ex-employee. He was absolved when the investigation’s findings did not warrant any serious action against him. He then was signed off by an independent psychologist Friday and passed an annual physical Monday.
According to a report by Richard Haley, the psychologist, “Chief Becker is able to perform his job function” and his “prior prescription medication misuse does not affect Chief Becker’s ability to return to work at this time.” The annual physical included a drug test as well.
The investigation, conducted by Attorney Roger Benson, revealed the fire chief had been on prescription drugs from August 2008 until February 2009 due to back surgery, but his substance abuse problem “should not (have) be(en) dealt with after the fact as misconduct.” In his report summary, Benson also stated the remaining allegations appeared larger than they were and that “the reliability of these assertions is undermined by bias and self-interest” and “do(es) not provide a basis to fire Chief Becker for cause under the terms of his contract.”
At the Nov. 17 monthly meeting, the fire board terminated the investigation and administrative leave of the suspended Becker pending the outcome of a ‘fitness for duty’ letter from a health professional or the department’s employee assistance program.
Becker, who admittedly has been clean from prescription drugs since February 2009, will not have to meet any imposed conditions such as random drug testing. The prescription drug abuse report was filed by former employee Margaret Banyan.
“Despite the doctors attempt to ween me off of them, I needed to go cold turkey,” said Becker about the prescription drugs. “You really can’t go through that kind of surgery and be prescribed that amount of medication for that long without having some dependency to them. I’m grateful to be off them.”
At last week’s meeting, FMB Fire Board Chairman John Scanlon stated that he believed there should not have been an investigation in the first place and later made the motion to get the fire chief back on duty.
“Personally, if Mr. Benson has put in 40 hours or thereabouts into this, and we’ve already spent $11,000 of taxpayers money on this investigation, I think we should terminate the investigation,” he said. The motion passed unanimously.
Benson, who has been a lawyer for 36 years, explained the basis of the investigation to the fire board.
“I found that one of the most important challenges that I faced was to make sure that I did part out those things that were your responsibility in your annual evaluation of his job performance and what was alleged to be the basis for firing the guy,” he said. “That’s what I understood my responsibility was. Are these allegations a violation of rules and regulations and immoral, unethical conduct or illegal activities sufficiently supported to justify you making a decision to fire this guy? The problem is if you read both the union’s letter and Banyan’s letter quickly, you would say to yourself ‘Oh, my God.’ That’s why I take motive, perspective and relationships between these people to be important in making that decision.”
Like always, Becker just wants to get back to his career and focus.
“I’m very pleased to get back to work,” he said. “It’s time to get the organization into a focus on the mission. My management team needs to make the necessary changes to make us fiscally whole. I’m glad this distraction is finally over.”
The word-for word conclusion of Attorney Benson’s investigative report
“The central question confronting the Board of Fire Commissioners is whether Chief Becker engaged in misconduct serious enough to warrant firing him for cause. You have asked me to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the allegations made against Chief Becker by the union and Margaret Banyan.
Chief Becker’s addiction to prescription pain medicine is a serious matter, but it should not be dealt with after the fact as misconduct. It is short sighted to believe that Chief Becker is the first, the last or the only different employee to suffer from substance abuse that affects his or her job performance. But Chief Becker’s failure was not the only one. There was a number of district personnel who now stand as his accusers who also failed the district. There are protocols available to protect the district and its mission while at the same time providing Chief Becker with the support that every other district employee would expect if the shoe was on the other foot. And those protocols do not include well-intentioned but amateurish interventions or time-off to get things under control.
The remaining allegations appear as they would in the mirror on the passenger side of your car: larger than they really are. The reliability of these assertions is undermined by bias and self-interest. They do not provide a basis to fire Chief Becker for cause under the terms of his contract.