I would like to find out why after only 11 months of service Howard Giles left his position as the Fire Chief of the Gainesville, Georgia Fire Department, please let me know if there are articles that have been published also! Thanks in advance for any help!
Giles took office in December 2004 after being hired by then-Mayor James McClinton, who said he had reviewed the Topeka department’s hiring and promotion practices shortly before he was elected in 1997 to his second term on the Topeka City Council.
McClinton said he found fire department hiring and promotion decisions were largely based on friendships, bloodlines and seniority in the department, which "was full of fathers, sons, grandsons and nephews."
Some firefighters defend that type of arrangement, saying relatives of current and former firefighters join the department knowing what to expect and feeling proud to follow in the footsteps of their relatives by serving their community.
But McClinton said when he was called upon to fill the fire chief’s position vacated by the retirement of Dennis Phillips in 2004, he sought someone who wouldn’t be under pressure from within as he or she implemented fair administrative policies based on firefighting science, managerial skills and merit.
McClinton chose Giles, who had been fire science program director since 2002 at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Ga.
Giles previously had spent 18 years with the Gwinnett County Fire Department in Lawrenceville, Ga., where he rose to the rank of deputy chief before leaving in March 2000; and from April 2000 to March 2001 as fire chief in Gainesville, Ga., where his employment application indicated he left due to "a change in the make up of the council."
McClinton said Giles brought substantial academic, theoretical and practical leadership and managerial skills to the department.
McClinton acknowledged he had expected Giles to face some resistance because he came from outside the department. He said he thought Giles has handled that resistance well.
McClinton — who left office five months after hiring Giles when Topeka put in place a city council-manager form of government that puts a city manager in charge of day-to-day operations instead of the mayor — hasn’t been in town during the recent developments involving Giles. He moved last month from Topeka to Dallas.
June 8th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Local politics as I recall. The best bet for articles would normally be http://www.accessnorthgs.combut search tehre shows articles have been removed as they normally are after a number of yrs. Your next best bet us probably to see if Gainesville Times can tell you how to access its archives that go back before what has expired on the access site.
References :
Live a few min N of Gainesville and worked in Gainesville at the time.
June 8th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Giles took office in December 2004 after being hired by then-Mayor James McClinton, who said he had reviewed the Topeka department’s hiring and promotion practices shortly before he was elected in 1997 to his second term on the Topeka City Council.
McClinton said he found fire department hiring and promotion decisions were largely based on friendships, bloodlines and seniority in the department, which "was full of fathers, sons, grandsons and nephews."
Some firefighters defend that type of arrangement, saying relatives of current and former firefighters join the department knowing what to expect and feeling proud to follow in the footsteps of their relatives by serving their community.
But McClinton said when he was called upon to fill the fire chief’s position vacated by the retirement of Dennis Phillips in 2004, he sought someone who wouldn’t be under pressure from within as he or she implemented fair administrative policies based on firefighting science, managerial skills and merit.
McClinton chose Giles, who had been fire science program director since 2002 at Lanier Technical College in Oakwood, Ga.
Giles previously had spent 18 years with the Gwinnett County Fire Department in Lawrenceville, Ga., where he rose to the rank of deputy chief before leaving in March 2000; and from April 2000 to March 2001 as fire chief in Gainesville, Ga., where his employment application indicated he left due to "a change in the make up of the council."
McClinton said Giles brought substantial academic, theoretical and practical leadership and managerial skills to the department.
McClinton acknowledged he had expected Giles to face some resistance because he came from outside the department. He said he thought Giles has handled that resistance well.
McClinton — who left office five months after hiring Giles when Topeka put in place a city council-manager form of government that puts a city manager in charge of day-to-day operations instead of the mayor — hasn’t been in town during the recent developments involving Giles. He moved last month from Topeka to Dallas.
References :
http://cjonline.com/stories/092307/loc_202045920.shtml