Madison fire department investigation continues

NEWARK – The investigation into allegations of misconduct within the Madison Township Fire Department might continue until the end of June.

The Madison Township board of trustees voted unanimously Tuesday evening to extend investigator Steve Little’s contract to June 30. In addition, the trustees passed a resolution that requires Madison Township Fire Department employees to comply with the investigator’s requests for interviews or be disciplined.

Little was originally hired by the board of trustees to conduct an efficiency study for the board. The study, which analyzed how well the trustees worked with the fire department, road department and zoning commission, also noted some allegations of misconduct within the fire department.

Little’s contract with the trustees was extended to April 30 so he could investigate those allegations.

Licking County Prosecutor Kenneth Oswalt was present at Tuesday night’s meeting in Licking Valley High School. He told the public that Little had not finished his investigation on time because fire department employees had refused to cooperate with Little or participate at all in interviews.

“Mr. Little has not completed his report because certain individuals have declined to participate in the interviews and they have not made themselves available,” Oswalt said.

Oswalt said that, if there were employees who wished to not comply with requests for interview, they should have their attorneys contact his office.

Despite several questions from the crowd, the board did not make any further comments on the investigation, except to say that Little had been paid more than $2,000 Tuesday. That latest paycheck put his total for 2015 at more than $10,000.

“We haven’t gotten a whole lot for that money. We’ve got a lot of rumors,” Melissa Decker said during the public comments period.

Decker said she has worked with the Madison Township Fire Department for close to 13 years and had not been contacted for an interview. But, she said, she did know of others who were contacted by Little only to have their interviews canceled later.

In previous meetings, residents have expressed concerns about Little’s credentials and lack of an investigator’s license. Oswalt said that Little is not required to have a private investigator’s license for this job and that the trustees hired Little after Oswalt recommended him.

“All we’re trying to do is get a level of cooperation with you folks that know what’s going on,” Oswalt said. “Without that, this board does not know what needs to be done, if anything.”

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