CORNING, NEW YORK, FIRE CHIEF STEPHEN MONROE surprised everybody at Monday night’s City Council meeting when he announced that he would be retiring at the end of this month, April 30. He has held the position of Fire Chief for nearly ten years.
Reading from a statement before the council, Chief Monroe said taking the oath of fire chief 10 years ago was one of the proudest moments of his career. However, he said, “Those of you who know me know I am a proponent of principle-based leadership. I believe professional integrity is a very important part of the fire service. Over the last few months, I have received directives which I find increasingly difficult to reconcile ethically and legally with performing the duties of chief to the best of my abilities.”
Chief Monroe
He has not gone into any detail of what he was referring to and has said that he will have nothing more to say before he leaves. But it is known that the city manager Mark Ryckman has been looking for ways to slash public safety agencies as he tries to close a nearly-2 million dollar budget gap, including laying off nearly 1/3 of Corning’s firefighters.
The Corning Leader adds:
Councilman Betty Coccho, D-6, said she is very sad to see Monroe retire. “I’m really sorry he felt it was a necessity to retire,” Coccho said. “I don’t think he retired because he wanted to. He has received directives for his job that he thinks are wrong. I imagine the directives were from the city manager. The council doesn’t have any authority over his position.”
Ted Dates, fire department union president, declined to comment on the chief’s retirement. “I can’t really say anything because he is not a member of the union,” Dates said. “I think he has said everything.”
WETM-TV Ch. 18 Elmira filed this video report that includes an interview with Chief Monroe:
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