Thirteen turned out to be an unlucky number after all for Salem Police Chief Dean Wolf.
Wolf, police chief of the small town for the past 13 years, was fired last week during a heated argument in a Salem Town Council meeting. But that's only half the story.Wolf, fired by Mayor Allen Woodhouse, said he was advised by legal counsel to return to his post because "the firing must come from the council, not the mayor."
However, in a special meeting Saturday, the council approved the dismissal.
Wolf said his problems started in September of 1988 when the town took away his overtime. "A councilman (Kenneth Swensen, who was over the police department) advised me that they couldn't do that. When I approached the mayor on it, he said they wouldn't discuss the issue."
Wolf said he then contacted an attorney representing the Utah Chiefs of Police Association, and the issue was discussed in May. "They had a man from the Wage and Labor Board who said I was hired at the discretion of the mayor. However, he also said I was an hourly employee and should be compensated as such."
Counsel advised the mayor to negotiate, Wolf said, but "nothing was ever done. They just kept putting it off." The city failed to address the issue in its fiscal 1990 budget, so Wolf decided to write a letter to the council.
"The mayor read the letter in the meeting, got to the point where it asked for negotiations and started asking me about why I was changing my work schedule," Wolf said. Swensen "advised me that I could change to a 10-hour schedule since they couldn't pay for overtime."
Woodhouse questioned Wolf's taking time off for a Boy Scout trip to Lake Powell, "even though I had tried to contact him and he wasn't there," Wolf said. Swensen approved the trip, "but I guess that wasn't good enough."
Last week, when Wolf broached the subject of negotiating a contract with the city, Woodhouse told him, "I'll negotiate with you. You're canned."
Woodhouse would say only that Wolf was fired because of "ongoing problems." He called the Saturday session to ratify the dismissal.
Salem is now advertising for a new police chief. In the meantime, Woodhouse said, he and the council are keeping mum about the dispute on the advice of an attorney.
The council has approved police officer Jerry Jones as temporary police chief until a new chief is chosen, Woodhouse said.