Holly Springs Fire Commission Votes To Terminate Fire Chief

July 23, 4:24 p.m.:

The commission stated the department faces a $70,000 shortfall in its budget and the chief's position is the only thing that could be cut.

Jeffcoat says he is surprised by the move and questions the legality of the vote since his termination was not on the agenda. He says if this is the end of his 26-year career at Holly Springs, he is proud of what he accomplished.

July 23, 4:15 p.m.:

The Holly Springs Fire Commission voted 3 - 0 to terminate Chief Lee Jeffcoat, leaving a crowd of citizens stunned and angry.

July 23, 3:35 p.m.

There's already drama at the latest Holly Springs Fire Commission meeting, and the meeting has barely started.

First of all, the citizens group which supports Chief Jeffcoat abandoned its plans to boycott the meeting and demonstrate outside due to the heat. So a large crowd is inside as usual.

After Board Chairman Ryan Phillips gaveled in the meeting, board member Hugh Jackson, a staunch supporter of Jeffcoat, stood up and said he has a problem with how the chairman notified the public of the meeting at the last possible minute. He also questioned why there are five citizens listed to speak on the agenda when no one knew this meeting was going to happen until yesterday at 2:45.

Jackson then excused himself from the meeting and walked out.

July 23, 12:30pm

Citizens in Holly Springs who support Chief Lee Jeffcoat are planning a boycott of today's board meeting.

The board of commissioners will meet at 2:45pm to discuss the fire department's budget which could determine the chief's future.

A group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Holly Springs Community has been very vocal at past meetings, but a member says the group will boycott this meeting.

"Since (the commission) won't let us have a say tomorrow, don't listen to what they have to say!" said Cindy Yarbrough in an email. "We still want a large number of folks there, but stationed OUTSIDE the fire department, not inside."

Another member of the group, Mary-Lu Elias, says the group will camp outside and petition other citizens to sign a petition asking for a referendum to have commissioners elected rather than appointed. By state law, 15% of the voting public in a district must sign a petition to get a referendum on the ballot.

The community is divided on the issue of whether the district should have a full-time fire chief. More than two-hundred citizens have signed a petition supporting the commissioners, asking them to do whatever it takes to prevent tax increases. In recent years, Chief Jeffcoat has supported the idea of tax increases to fund a 24-hour fire department.

Check back later for updates.

July 20th, 6:25pm

Clarence Gibbs says he resigned his position on the Holly Springs Fire District board effective today.  

Gibbs, who owns Inman Realty, says he was asked about a month ago to sit on the Spartanburg County Board of Assesment Appeals, which allows citizens to appeal their property taxes.  He says with his real estate background, he thought he could better serve the community in that capacity rather than continue serving on the Holly Springs board. 

He says his departure has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding Holly Springs. 

"I am not abandoning the people of Holly Springs or the movement to make the fire department live within its means," says Gibbs.

He says he will continue to attend meetings and help the remaining commissioners reform the district to rein in spending. 

July 20th Update

On Monday night, the Holly Springs Fire District Board voted to hire an auditor to look at the department's daily accounting practices and year-end budget. They will use the report to decide how much money is available for expenses, including a fire chief.

July 19th Update

The Holly Springs Fire Commissioners will meet at 6:00 p.m. Monday to talk about the fire department's finances.  They will go over bids for accounting and auditing services.  Chief Lee Jeffcoat has said the department has the money to keep him full-time.  The board said if there's a money shortage, they will have to look at cutting his salary, since all other areas of the budget have been slashed.  News Channel 7 will update this story.

July 16th Update

There was no resolution that came from a budget workshop held Friday evening by the controversial Holly Springs Fire Department Board of Commissioners.

With more than 50 people in attendance, the commissoners said that Holly Springs Fire Chief Lee Jeffcoat's budget figures were based on unrealistic revenue expectations given the state of the economy. The Commissioners recommeded that they should hire three independent auditors to review the department's finances to tell them how much money they have to work with.

However Jeffcoat said that the hiring of independent auditors would be a waste of time and money.

Jeffcoat, who is paid $50,000 per year as Fire Chief, said he based his figures on data provided by an auditor. He has compiled the annual budget for the Fire District for the past seven years, and his version of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year indicates that the district is going to collect more revenue than it does in the commission's budget because the Chief is banking on a higher percentage of growth in Holly Springs. 

Jeffcoat, with his attorney beside him, became involved in a heated exchange with Board Chairman Ryan Phillips.

Phillips told News Channel 7's Chris Cato that if the audits show the commission's figures are correct, they will have to consider eliminating Jeffcoat's position. 

Just last month, the commission told Chief Lee Jeffcoat the department can't afford a full-time chief so they asked him to work part-time or resign.

Jeffcoat  has refused, saying his budget figures show the department is doing fine. He says the board just wants to get rid of him for political reasons.

At its last meeting, the commissioner's decided to take the possible termination of Jeffcoat off of its agenda. During that same meeting, the commissioners were quizzed by citizens on why they had previously voted to terminate Chief Lee Jeffcoat at an earlier meeting, which was deemed illegal.

Here are updates from past meetings.

UPDATE July 6, 4:37 p.m.
The meeting has started with 140 people present. Many more people are outside in the heat. Some have formed a prayer circle. State Senator Lee Bright is here along with Sheriff Chuck Wright.
Chief Jeffcoat is currently going over the department's finances.
His employment status is the last item on the agenda.

UPDATE: JULY 6TH

The attorney who represents the Board of Commissioners, Ken Anthony, responded this morning to an email sent yesterday. He says the board chose to meet at 4pm today "to accomodate those who had requested to speak".

Eight people are listed on the agenda as having requested in writing to speak to the board during the "new business" portion of the meeting. Listed in that portion of the agenda is: "Consideration of elimination of fulltime position of Fire Chief and termination of current Chief".

Update: Monday, July 5

Holly Springs residents are upset over what they call an attempt by their Fire District Board to keep them from attending Tuesday's board meeting.

They say for years, the board has held its monthly meetings at 7:00pm. But when Chairman Ryan Phillips posted the agenda on Friday, it listed a 4:00pm meeting time.

"Historically, when all of the meetings have been at seven, and now this one's at four when most people are still at work, yeah, I would say that's an attempt at shutting us out," says Mary-Lu Elias, a resident who has the 4pm time posted on a sign in her yard to notify passing motorists on Highway 357.

"They know there are going to be a lot of angry people there wanting answers, so they're hoping to discourage some of those from attending," says Elias. "And they may reduce the number of questions, but they will still have to answer the main questions."

Phillips has not returned calls seeking comment. A relative at his home told us he was out of town until Tuesday; however, a citizen later reported seeing him at the fire station.

There is also confusion over the location of the meeting. Holly Springs Fire Marshal Russel Hart sent an email last Monday to Chief Lee Jeffcoat, recommending the meeting be held at Holly Springs-Motlow Elementary School to accomodate the larger crowd that is expected and to reduce safety risk posed by a lack of parking at the fire station.

"The last meeting we had, people were parking in the field across the road and in the gas station parking lot and running across the highway to get to the meeting," said Hart. "It's just not safe. The school has the parking space to accomodate everyone." 

He says the school's auditorium can also accomodate up to 350 people, whereas the social hall at the fire station has a maximum occupancy of 107. Around 150 people packed the social hall at the June 18th community meeting.

"And I'm not going to start turning people away at the door," says Hart. "This is a public meeting and everybody wants to attend."

However, when the agenda came out on Friday, it listed the fire department building as the location. According to fire district by-laws, the chief has the duty of publishing the meeting agenda and notifying the public. However, that was not done this time.

"For the first time ever, the chairman put out the agenda," said Jeffcoat.

But Jeffcoat had already advertised the meeting in the Herald-Journal as taking place at the elementary school and put the school as the meeting location on the marquee outside the fire station. He has not changed that marquee. And his attorney says he will speak to a judge on Tuesday morning about the location of the meeting.

Elias says no matter when or where the meeting is held, the commissioners will have to hear the citizens' questions about efforts to remove Jeffcoat as full-time chief.

"They can change the time and they can try and change the location, but we're ready for them wherever they meet. Because we will not let this action stand."

Check back on Tuesday for further updates.

Update: Thursday, June 24th

A judge has ruled the termination of Holly Springs Fire Chief Lee Jeffcoat is invalid because the decision was made at an illegal meeting.

A restraining order signed Thursday by Spartanburg County Judge Roger Couch restrains the board from "any further violations of the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act". It also states that the board violated that act at last week's meeting by failing to give proper notice, failing to take minutes, failing to make the meeting open to the public, and taking a secret vote.

The order also states the board cannot implement any action taken at the meeting -- including the termination of Jeffcoat.

Judge Couch issued the order after reviewing an affidavit filed Wednesday by Ryan Langley, the attorney representing Jeffcoat. Langley says before petitioning the judge, he gave the board an opportunity to retract its decision, but board members said they would not.

"We gave them a chance to avoid all of this and do the right thing, but for whatever reason, they won't back down," said Langley.

A hearing will be held within 10 days before Judge Couch, but Langley says it is mostly a formality because the judge has already found there is evidence of a Freedom of Information violation. That evidence: an email sent from board chairman Ryan Phillips to Jeffcoat around 10:00am on June 16th, informing him there would be a meeting that night at 7:00 that he should attend.

"It's obvious they didn't give the public the 24-hours notice required by law," said Langley.

At the hearing, Judge Couch could order the board to pay Jeffcoat's attorney fees.    

Meanwhile, State Senator Lee Bright, who represents Holly Springs, says the Governor's Office advised him the June 16th meeting was held illegally and another meeting must be held to discuss Jeffcoat's future. The next regularly scheduled meeting is July 6th. But the board could call a special meeting before then. Ken Anthony, the attorney who represents the board, says at this time there are no plans for a special meeting but if one is warranted, the public will be notified.

Jeffcoat's attorney says his client will return to work Friday because the judge's order means he is still the chief. However, the board could at any time call a special meeting to legally terminate him -- as long as the meeting follows the Freedom of Information requirements." 

Meanwhile, another board member tells News Channel 7 last week's meeting was not the first time the board met without notifying the public.

Hugh Jackson, who has served on the commission since 2003, says "several months ago" board members Ryan Phillips, Roscoe Kyle and Clarence Gibbs called him to a meeting and told him they had already decided a personnel matter.

"They said 'everybody but you already knows about this, so just sign this paper'," said Jackson, who supports Jeffcoat and believes it's in the community's best interest to keep him as fire chief.

"I just hate what this has done to our community," said Jackson. "Our fire department is the last thing we have in Holly Springs to really rally around, and (the other board members) are tearing it apart."

Update: Friday June 18th

Holly Springs residents packed the fire department Friday evening to speak their mind, as board members took heat over their decision to remove the chief, citing financial difficulties.

The board remained for about a half hour, before being escorted out by sheriffs deputies, after residents shouted concerns at them, in regards to the popular chief being removed, and what it means to their safety.

A main concern was that the decision was made without community input.

The board stood by their decision, and State Senator Lee Bright pledged to meet with the board to discuss how to smooth over the controversy.

Earlier in the week, firefighters threatened to quit over the removal of their chief, but Friday night, the interim chief said the firefighters will remain on duty until the situation is resolved.

The interim chief also pledged to step down should the former chief get his job back.

Original Story:

The hottest spot in Sparatanburg County may be inside the Holly Springs Fire Department. More specifically, the seat occupied by Chief Lee Jeffcoat.

"It's just an unethical decision," says Jeffcoat. "It's a demise to the fire department and the community."

He's referring to a move by the Holly Springs Fire District Board of Commissioners. At a hastily called and technically illegal meeting Wednesday night, board members told Jeffcoat they want him to work part-time and cut his salary from $50,000 a year to $23,500.

"We're just trying to make ends meet with our budget, and we don't think this fire department needs a full-time chief," says Roscoe Kyle, vice-chairman of the board.

Jeffcoat told the board the fire district is too large to be operated by a part-time chief.

"There is just no way you can run a modern day fire department as busy as we are, as big as the community is," says Jeffcoat, who has been with the department for 26 years, the last 6 of those as chief.

Jeffcoat says board chairman Ryan Phillips told him he could "volunteer" the rest of the time it would take to run the department. Jeffcoat refused the offer. He says Phillips then told him he should resign, to which Jeffcoat also said no.

"The reply was, if you can't resign, we'll have to let you go, and that it would look better on my resume to resign rather than be fired," says Jeffcoat.

Jeffcoat says he asked Phillips if he was being terminated, and Phillips said, "I guess that's what we're doing here", then got up and left the meeting, saying he had another meeting to attend. Jeffcoat also left the meeting. By that time, an angry group of Holly Springs firefighters were standing outside the conference room door, demanding answers.

Jeffcoat says the five board members left the room, refusing to answer the firefighters' questions. He says things grew heated as firefighters shouted at board members and tried to block their exit from the fire station. Phillips later returned to the station to talk to the firefighters. He told them and members of the media Jeffcoat had quit, something Jeffcoat denies.

"I never said I quit. I told them I'm not going to resign. They'll have to fire me. But they never gave me a straight answer as to whether I am being fired."

In an interview with WSPA on Thursday, vice chairman of the board Roscoe Kyle verified  Phillips told Jeffcoat he should resign because it would "look better' than being terminated. Phillips on Thursday did not return calls seeking comment.

Jeffcoat is the department's only full-time employee. It has eight part-time employees and 24 volunteers. Jeffcoat says "almost all" of the firefighters have told him they will quit if he is fired or forced to resign. If that happens, residents of Holly Springs will have to rely on fire service from neighboring communities which, according to Jeffcoat, will mean longer emergency response times.

"My biggest concern is not me," says Jeffcoat. "It's the community and my firemen."

Kyle says he hopes Jeffcoat will reconsider the offer to work as a part-time chief, and if his employment is terminated, he hopes the firefighters won't live up to their promise to walk. But he says if they do, residents of Holly Springs will still have fire protection.

"I can assure the people that we're going to try to make sure that they stay as safe as possible," said Kyle.

Jeffcoat says he does not believe the board's effort to make him work part-time is about saving money. He thinks there are deeper, political motivations to force him out.

"If we need money so badly, why did the board cut out all of our alternative revenue sources?"

He's referring to recent decisions by the board to stop billing insurance companies for damaged equipment and to stop holding fundraisers, practices which he claims brought in an extra $85,000 annually for the department -- which operates on a $385,000 budget.

Jeffcoat says Kyle is a political nemesis who is out to get him. He says in 2007, Kyle was a vocal opponent of Jeffcoat's efforts to get a property tax increase to provide more revenue for the fire department. Kyle was appointed to the board of fire commissioners in 2009 by four Spartanburg County legislators, including Sen. Lee Bright and Rep. Joey Millwood.

Kyle denies having any political motives in his dealings with Jeffcoat on the fire board.

"I have no vendetta against him," said Kyle. "I think he's a good guy who works hard and does a good job. I just don't think we need a full-time chief."

Firefighters have called a community meeting Friday at 7:00pm at the fire station on Highway 357. They invite board members and the community to attend so residents can ask questions and discuss the future of the department.

At least one board member says he probably won't be at the meeting.

"I think I've got something else to do Friday night," said Kyle.