Rick Hoppes to be recommended as the permanent Salisbury Fire Chief by Mayor Jim Ireton. The Mayor will make his formal request on January 21st at the City Council meeting.
Chief Simpson simply decided to go home states the Mayor.
Rick Hoppes says he is humbled and honored to fill in as chief in the interim and as the permanent chief if the
City Council will have him. The starting salary for the Salisbury Fire Chief is 71,111.00 a year.
Rick Hoppes does not live in the City of Salisbury his residence is in Parsonburg, Md.
Chief Simpson simply decided to go home states the Mayor.
Rick Hoppes says he is humbled and honored to fill in as chief in the interim and as the permanent chief if the
City Council will have him. The starting salary for the Salisbury Fire Chief is 71,111.00 a year.
Rick Hoppes does not live in the City of Salisbury his residence is in Parsonburg, Md.
Originally Posted at 2:37pm
New Post Will Fall Below
Publishers Notes: It should be known right out of the gate that Mayor Ireton, (once again) refused to inform Salisbury News of this Press Conference but our sources continue to keep us in the loop and we participated anyway.
That being said, regardless of what some Firefighters say about Rick Hoppes, I believe Rick will, (once again) prove to be an excellent Fire Chief.
Mayor Ireton insisted that he is done reviewing applications, (around 150) and will absolutely make Rick Hoppes his one and only recommendation to fill this position for good.
In other words, (after asking him directly) he will not do a nation wide search again, this is his choice and quite frankly Mayor Ireton is right. They have performed two national searches in the past two years and it all comes down to who Ireton recommends, his choice is Rick Hoppes.
While the Council could in fact force a national search, that doesn't mean the Mayor has to participate. It's not often I agree with Mayor Ireton but you know what, it's about damn time the Council lets him do his job. He has made his decision, Hoppes has served the Citizens well for many years now, he's vested his entire life in this area and I too support the Mayor's decision to hire Rick Hoppes as the next Fire Chief of Salisbury.
Now we ALL know there will be a TON of comments bitching about my support, too bad. The Firefighters forced Simpson out, (no matter what anyone says) and they have abused enough upper management staff for far too long. That being said, I'm DONE with the SFD Posts and Comments and it's high time we start concentrating on supporting the Salisbury Police Department and their wants and needs. We'll talk more about that later.
Congratulations Chief Hoppes and Mayor Ireton.
33 comments:
I think Brian Records should be Fire Chief.
That salary is a joke. Better take him up on it, won't find any "come here's" to come her for those peanuts.
I vote for Bryan Records
Excellent choice by the Mayor!
Excellant chioce Mayor Ireton!
I'd vote for Brian also. He has the experience, dedication, and leadership skills. And best of all he is from 'within'.
So there is a Council meeting on Saturday the 21st???
You're right about the Council letting Ireton have his choice. Unless information should surface that shows that Hoppes has considerable "baggage," then he should be given the job. No matter who gets the position, there are going to be a lot of naysayers, as seen on some previous posts when Hoppes' name was mentioned. Obviously, Ireton is not going to make everybody in the SFD happy, but so be it. They can either go along with Ireton's choice or resign. Enough micro-managing by the City Council.
If he's smart, he'll put the new fireboat on wheels and use it as a float during Firefighter week in OC. It would fit right in with the nut jobs down there and there will be no need to find (expensive) licensed staff to operate it.
4:16 PM you statement about excess baggage is in fact correct. He was part of the Gordy/Hoppes regime that took spending way out of control. He is part of the problems the department had with EEOC complaints. I agree they should promote someone internally, but many of us know he is not the person for the job. I think would be much better suited for his current position of Deputy Chief. Also the $71,000 is a joke and should not be offered considering the amount of work and BS the department head has to deal with. Jim do the right thing and follow city policy.
Sorry, but I disagree with the commentary. This is definitely a bad choice on the part the Mayor of Salisbury. He read over 150 because he screw the process up 3 different times so that is his fault. As a matter of fact I doubt he read any of them or even did a background check on any of the applicants. Case in point is Bernie Becker from Ohio and Jeff Simpson from somewhere in Virginia. I hope the city council rejects this nomination and they should. It is within their right and Ireton isn't following the proper procedure. Shame on you Jim Ireton you have failed the city again.
I will take Hoppes over Simpson any day, but I know there were better people to choose from. A sad state of affairs in the City of Salisbury.
As a former career firefighter with SFD, I believe Rick will have a much better handle on the department politics and no doubt be better then the past two Chiefs ... BUT... unfortunately, he does have the baggage from the "Gordy" era. With that said, I do believe Bryan Records would be the better choice. Bryan is without a doubt as honorable as they come, both as a human being and a firefighter. He would lead SFD in a direction that would improve the department and restore dignity and respect for both the career and volunter divisions. I learned much from him during my time as a voly/career firefighter and he is one of the FEW at that time i trusted my life with. Just my two cents!!
anonymous 5:34, I couldn't agree more. However, Bryan is too smart to ever fall for that political position because of so many others in the past that screwed that position up.
Rick will do fine. He has some great ideas for the near future and I truly look forward to seeing him go public with those ideas.
As Muhammad Ali used to say when he was stripped of his title for dodging the draft'
'The NBA doesn't determine the champ - the people do'.
So in my estimation - even if Hoppes does become the official Fire Chief by Ireton's nomination - most all of he fire fighters will actually know that Bryan is the real deal.
I hope the City Council members are listening.
I don't have an iron in this fire but I'm wondering what all the fuss is about. Why would the city need an 'outsider' to be chief? Nobody is these parts qualified?
With all the whoopla and infighting surrounding the fire dept why would anyone even want to be chief of that?
Last time I checked 71 thousand a year is good money. ESPECIALLY in this economy and in this area.
Find someone who wants the position, who is qualified, is willing and able to do whatever is necessary for the betterment of the dept and the community, and preferably someone who has no political aspirations.
It shouldn't be about ego or who is everyone's buddy. Do the job, do it well, and show the crybabies and others the door.
It's about time a local city employee is promted to the rank of dept. head without going all across the country. WHen one employee moves up it opens doors for others to be promoted. Rick will do fine, hell he did it for a year-n-a-half.
It's about time a local city employee is promted to the rank of dept. head without going all across the country. WHen one employee moves up it opens doors for others to be promoted. Rick will do fine, hell he did it for a year-n-a-half.
All I can say about the Fire Department is that I have never seen so many comments come in on SBYnews as when there is a Fire Department issue.
I believe everyone of the Fire Fighters including their brothers & sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, aunts, & uncles chime-in on SBYnews on these issues.
Joe have you lost your mind? Those of us that know Rick know that he isn't a good candidate. Why have you changed your opinion on him? By the way we are glad to see Simpson gone!!
Now if Rick gets confirmed the chiefs position he needs to surround himself with good leaders and not the lackeys in the higher positions now.
Hoppes doesn't have the qualifications, but Ireton is going to appoint him anyway?
10:25, have the actual qualifications been listed anywhere? If so, it would be easy enough to see if Hoppes has them or not.
No offense Joe, but I think you and Ireton have both lost your minds on this one.
Anonymous said...
Last time I checked 71 thousand a year is good money. ESPECIALLY in this economy and in this area.
January 10, 2012 7:09 PM
$71K for a city department head is chicken feed and a slap in the face to anyone. Hoppes will be the lowest paid department head in the city. He has been known to say he didn't want the chiefs job and wouldn't accept it for less than $100k. Shows you what a desperate attempt he is making to secure a title of a lifetime.
Not surprised Jim Ireton doesn't care about the rules for hiring people.
He knocked on our doors for inspections without notice.
The man is a hypocrite.
Hoppes was rejected by Jim Ireton on 3 occasions as well as rejected by the majority of the members of the Salisbury Fire Department. I see another future of controversy in the fire department. He proved he couldn't get along with members of the Salisbury City Council which included lies and shouting matches. I have a hard time believing Jim Ireton even wants this nomination to move forward through the council. I think he is making another attack on the city council to make them look like the bad guys again. Jim has a history of these actions now.
I don't know anything than whoever gets the position should please use restraint when it comes to things like fire boats, lavish expense accounts, etx. No more Gordy type spending sprees on taxpayer dime, please.
If chief supposed to live in salisbury, what will hoppes do?
Anonymous said...
I don't know anything than whoever gets the position should please use restraint when it comes to things like fire boats, lavish expense accounts, etx. No more Gordy type spending sprees on taxpayer dime, please.
If chief supposed to live in salisbury, what will hoppes do?
January 11, 2012 1:35 AM
Rick Hoppes was the Acting Fire Chief for over a year and was a complete failure and Jim Ireton knows this. Under Acting Chief Hoppes Bill Gordy took over command of the fire department and Hoppes let him. Gordy and Hoppes wasted millions of dollars in tax monies and Jim Ireton let him. It was known as the BGFD, the Bill Gordy Fire Department. Go back and follow all the stories about the Gordy/Hoppes disaster of a leadership team on this blog. The moral was at an all time low until Simpson arrived and it got much worse. The problem is the department isn't going to get much better under the leadership of Hoppes. What are these great ideas you are preaching for Hoppes. Any idea from him will involve money. Big Mistake for you Ireton. Have you forgotten that Hoppes was disrespecting you during your campaign and openly supporting Gary Comegys over you. Have you forgotten that Hoppes' ally Bill Gordy was Gary Comegys campaign manager. Par for the course for you to jump into bed with your enemies.
We are so glad Simpson is leaving, but many of us don't think Hoppes will be the best choice. The FD needs someone that will get along with everyone. This has already been a problem with Hoppes, but regardless Hoppes is from withing the department and Simpson is leaving. Now to get rid of all the butt kissers that sucked up to Jeff Simpson for a promotion. We know who you are.
Does anyone care to name the names of the butt kissers who sucked up to Jeff Simpson? These are the ones that are dangerous for the future of the Salisbury Fire Department.
Does this mean...Dru Bragg & Bill Gordy comes with the package? If so the Fire Department will be in no better position then before..
What has changed that makes Rick worth being the fire chief this time for the mayor but not last time? 12 months doesnt make that much of a difference.
I would speculate that with Rick being appointed chief that a certian captain would be re promoted to a chief positin and be given free reign again.
The mayor is a turd, The firefighters dont want to talk to him. The council should sit down with the fire fighters.
I honestly believe that the gentleman from Ohio would do our community good. Why are we having to rely on the same old when we could get some fresh ideas from a proven leader and really get the job done. SOmething to think about folks!
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