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SYRACUSE -ÊDue to a lack of a majority vote, the Syracuse Town Council had to table the appointment of a new fire chief Tuesday.
Fire chief Larry Hunter is resigning effective the end of the year and will remain a firefighter with the Syracuse Fire Department.
At the town council meeting Tuesday, the council had to vote on someone to replace Hunter. The candidates for chief were Syracuse firefighters Mickey Scott and Mike Davis.
Council members Carol Koble and Paul Stoelting were in favor of Scott while Barbara Carwile and Bill Hane wanted to name Davis as fire chief. Davis also is a town councilman and did not and could not vote on the issue. If he is appointed fire chief, Carwile said Davis will resign from the town council.
Since the vote was a 2-2 split, Clerk-Treasurer Elgie Tatman was called on to cast the tie-breaking vote. She refused.
After researching the issue, town attorney Mike Reed said Indiana Code says the town clerk casts the vote for the purpose of breaking a tie. "Elgie," he said, "has the right and authority to break a tie."
However, he said he could not find any code that said Tatman has to vote.
"And I won't," said Tatman, "because I don't have enough information."
Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steve Hite said perhaps if the council held a second interview with the candidates, it may help the council make a decision.
Carwile said the first interviews were close to an hour. "During the interviews we had ... both men give real good answers and it's a hard decision," she said. She said she understood Tatman's position.
"It's difficult for all of us," said Koble.
When asked if the council could readvertise for the position, Carwile said since Hunter is staying on with the department, they don't have an open position and no money to add another firefighter to the fire department. Koble said they wanted to keep the position in-house.
When and if the town council names a new fire chief, the appointment will be effective Jan. 1.
According to Carwile, Davis was a paramedic for Warsaw for a number of years and is now a paramedic and firefighter for Syracuse. Scott has also been with the department for a number of years and is currently taking courses to become a paramedic.
