Posts Tagged Huntley FPD Chief Ken Caudle

Huntley Fire Protection News (more)

Jan 27

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Former Huntley Fire Protection District Chief Ken Caudle’s retirement will leave him unable to collect a pension for 11 years. He was put on administrative leave in the summer and continued to get his $119,240 salary until he retired from the district Jan. 5.

The 49-year-old had 17 years and eight months of credible service with the district, Fire Chief Scott Ravagnie said. According to Illinois pension law, if a firefighter serves less than
20 years, he or she cannot receive a pension until age 60.

Ravagnie said Caudle will not receive any benefits from the district in retirement, and his retirement agreement did not include any financial aspects.

?Before he stepped down, Caudle’s new contract took effect in May and was set to run through April 2020, district documents show. When he resigned as chief and asked to return to the rank of battalion chief, he set a retirement date for Nov. 10, 2019, according to documents.

Former Fire Chief Jim Saletta, who now is a district trustee, previously said the board would vote on Caudle’s retirement contract at its meeting Tuesday. Saletta said he was misled, and the district will not vote on the contract. The district’s attorney said the board is not required to vote on retirements.

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Huntley Fire Protection News (more)

Jan 20

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

Excerpts from the NWHerald.com:

Former Huntley Fire Protection District Chief Ken Caudle, who was put on administrative leave in the summer, has retired from the district.

The former fire chief continued to get his $119,240 salary while on leave until he retired Jan. 5, Fire Chief Scott Ravagnie said, “the case is closed.”.

Caudle resigned as fire chief Aug. 15 and returned to the rank of battalion chief before being placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation.

Former Fire Chief Jim Saletta, who now is a district trustee, said the fire district’s board is meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the annex building, 11118 Main St., to vote on Caudle’s retirement.

The Northwest Herald submitted a Freedom of Information Act request Thursday seeking all documents regarding the investigation into Caudle.

Tags: chicagoareafire.com, fire chief in Huntley resigns, Huntley Fire Chief Ken Caudle, Huntley Fire Protection District, Huntley Fire Protection District Chief Ken Caudle, Huntley FPD Chief Ken Caudle

Huntley Fire Protection Districtnews (more)

Nov 3

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Excerpts from the NorthwestHerald.com:

Trustees of the Huntley Fire Protection District Board approved the promotion of acting Chief Scott Ravagnie to chief at a special meeting Thursday night after the resignation of former Chief Ken Caudle.

Ravagnie has worked for the district since 1992, moving up the ranks over the years. He grew up in Huntley and has lived there since 1986. A promotional ceremony will be held for Ravagnie at the board’s next scheduled meeting, 5:30 p.m. Nov. 28.

Moving past an ongoing investigation into Caudle is one of Ravagnie’s goals for the district. He also hopes to find a new location for the district’s main station and will be looking at response times.

Caudle continues to earn a salary of $119,240 while on leave. The Huntley Fire Protection District is conducting an ongoing investigation into something officials won’t talk about. He submitted a letter of resignation to the board Aug. 11, returned to his last commissioned rank of battalion chief, and was placed on administrative leave.

thanks Dan

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Huntley Fire Protection District news (more)

Oct 28

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 1 Comment

Excerpts from the NWHerald.com:

Former Fire Chief Ken Caudle continues to earn a salary while the Huntley Fire Protection District conducts an ongoing investigation into something officials won’t talk about.

Huntley Fire Protection District board members did not share any information about Caudle’s status at Tuesday’s board meeting. Trustees met in closed session where attorney Joe Miller gave updates.

Miller said the board is looking into some matters, and when it is an appropriate time for things to come out, it will be known to the public at that time. He advised the board to not speak about any current or former employees.

Caudle continues to receive a salary of $119,240 while on leave, Acting Chief Scott Ravagnie previously told the Northwest Herald.

Caudle submitted a letter of resignation as chief to the board Aug. 11. He returned to his last commissioned rank of battalion chief and was placed on paid administrative leave “pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation,” according to Huntley Fire Protection District documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In Caudle’s letter of resignation, he wrote that after a long discussion with his family, he set a retirement date for Nov. 10, 2019. Caudle’s current contract expires April 30, 2020. Caudle has been with the district since 1998 and served as chief for five years.

Former Trustee Joseph Mahoney of Algonquin asked whether Caudle still was on the payroll, which Miller would not answer.

Former Deputy Chief Keith Mallegni asked whether Caudle was being paid while sitting at home and whether there was an investigation ongoing.

“How long is this process going to take? Because the way I understand it is they are trying to wait for the next two years so he gets his 20-year pension,” Mallegni said.

The next scheduled meeting is Nov. 28.

Tags: chicagoareafire.com, Deputy Chief Albert Schlick, Deputy Chief Scott Ravagnie, fire chief in Huntley resigns, Fire Chief Scott Ravagnie, Huntley Fire Chief Ken Caudle, Huntley Fire Protection District, Huntley Fire Protection District Chief Ken Caudle, Huntley FPD Chief Ken Caudle

Huntley Fire Protection District news (more)

Sep 16

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Excerpts from the NWherald.com:

The Huntley Fire Protection District’s acting fire chief remained tight-lipped on the status of former Fire Chief Ken Caudle after a closed session meeting Tuesday.

Trustees, along with acting Fire Chief Scott Ravagnie, Deputy Chief Albert Schlick and district lawyers, met for an hour in closed session to talk about the “appointment, employment, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees,” according to the meeting’s agenda. They did not take any action after the closed session.

Ravagnie said he was unable to comment on the status of the investigation, when the district will make a decision regarding Caudle’s employment and what was discussed during Tuesday’s meeting.

Caudle submitted a letter of resignation as chief to the Board of Trustees on Aug. 11, stating that after a long discussion with his family, he set a retirement date for Nov. 10, 2019. Caudle’s current contract expires April 30, 2020.

He returned to his last commissioned rank of battalion chief and was placed on paid administrative leave “pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation,” according to Huntley Fire Protection District documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Caudle’s contract stipulates giving the department two weeks’ notice, and he wrote that he was willing to stay on as chief until a replacement could be found.

“I assure you that my decision did not come lightly, especially since my tenure as Chief with the District has been both fulfilling and rewarding,” he wrote in the letter. “It has been my greatest honor to serve as Fire Chief to the community, the members and the Board.”

Officials have not said what they are investigating and Caudle continues to receive a salary of $119,240 while on leave. He has been with the district since 1998 and served as chief for five years.

McHenry County fire departments struggle with staffing

Mar 10

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News, Fire Service News | Comments off

Excerpts from the NorthwestHerald.com:

As a part-time firefighter, Jonathan Fleck isn’t eligible to receive health insurance through the Huntley Fire Protection District. But after seven years, he is getting a little help.

Along with the Cary and the Rutland-Dundee fire protection districts, and the Sugar Grove Fire Department, Huntley is going to split a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide part-time firefighters with an incentive to stay over the next four years.

As long as he completes six hours of training and works six shifts a month, Fleck and other part-timers in Huntley will receive a $75 monthly stipend that goes directly to health care, child care, college education, or a retirement plan.

Because part-time firefighters receive lower pay, no benefits and fewer perks than their full-time counterparts, local fire officials have to get creative when it comes to retention and recruitment. For some, that means offering a financial incentive, while others choose to tout their ability to prepare firefighters for a full-time job in the field.

Huntley Chief Ken Caudle said his department consists of about 30 part-timers and 58 full-time firefighters. Ideally, Caudle wants to have 35 part-time employees, but he struggles to find candidates who want to go through rigorous and time-consuming training to work a shift a week as a firefighter/paramedic for about $17 or $18 an hour.

It’s a problem local departments share because they often are working with the same part-time employees.

“A lot of our guys have become full time in other departments, but they will come in on their day off to protect their own community,” Cary Fire Chief Jeffrey Macko said.

Under the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, they hope to be able keep and build on their pool of part-timers.

Only 8 percent of the fire departments in the country were staffed entirely by career firefighters as of January, and none of them are in McHenry County, according to the U.S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Department Census.

Most of the fire departments in McHenry County are made up with a majority of part-time firefighters. Only two departments in the county – the Crystal Lake Fire Rescue Department and the Huntley Fire Protection District – are mostly career, meaning 51 percent to 99 percent of their staff are full time.

At the Richmond Fire Protection District, Chief Rick Gallas is the only full-time firefighter in a station that’s staffed 24 hours a day. Adding more full-time firefighters isn’t an option because of tax revenue, but he’s got a system to make his department work.

“Our goal is to get them in, get them training and use them for five to seven years depending on the hiring process for career departments,” Gallas said. “Then we’re going to lose them.”

Gallas is in the middle of his annual recruitment drive to find five to 10 candidates within a 10-mile radius of the town who can go through the department’s mini-academy to prepare them to get their Firefighter Basic Certificate. The fire department splits the $2,400 cost with the trainee.