By Bryon Saxton
The Standard-Examiner
SUNSET, Utah — Sunset City Fire Chief Breen Lowman has resigned, effective immediately, after last week receiving a one-week unpaid suspension.
City leaders are offering little comment regarding the resignation.
“I’m aware (Lowman) has tendered his resignation,” Sunset Mayor Beverly Macfarlane told the Standard-Examiner on Wednesday.
“I feel like he did a really good job as our fire chief,” Macfarlane said.
But Macfarlane, who serves as the city administrator, declined any further comment on the matter.
“On Oct. 1, 2014, I filed a Hostile Work Environment complaint against a member of the Sunset City Council. Because of the improper targeting of me as a result of that complaint and due to the recent unethical and unprofessional actions of the Sunset City Council, I am resigning as the fire chief of Sunset Fire and Rescue effective immediately,” Lowman said Wednesday in a press release to the Standard-Examiner.
“All actions that I took, especially those in reference to the recently reported incidents at Sunset Fire and Rescue were in complete compliance with city policy and that compliance was verified by the city attorney,” Lowman said in his statement.
“I am grateful for my time serving as the fire chief of Sunset Fire and Rescue. I recognize the professional way many of the Sunset City employees perform their duties and I have appreciated working with them,” he said.
“I am proud of the many accomplishments that the fire department was able to achieve during my time there. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the many firefighters who have faithfully served the fire department and Sunset City. I sincerely thank them for the support they have given me,” Lowman said.
Lowman was recently embroiled in a controversy after he suspended and then later reinstated a firefighter who was alleged to have tested positive for an illegal substance, without sharing the information with the entire city council. As a result, the city council after a two-hour closed meeting on Nov. 18 voted to suspend Lowman for one week without pay.
Lowman was receiving an annual base salary of just over $16,000 for his role as part-time fire chief.
When contacted about the incident involving the firefighter who had been suspended and reinstated, Lowman referred to the matter as a personnel issue, one he could not discuss.
But despite the council’s actions against Lowman, firefighters within the department said they supported Lowman.
“As a department, we do back Chief Lowman,” said firefighter Jacob Sobers at the Nov. 18 meeting.
___
(c)2014 the Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah)
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC