Before Aaron Hilmer and Bonnie Stegman were elected to the the Mehlville Fire Protection District's Board of Directors in 2005, new employees were hired because of their personal and/or political connections NOT because of ability or qualifications.
IAFF Local 1889 was comfortable with this arrangement as long as the new hires agreed with their Democratic political orientation and paid dues. This union would like to go back to the way it was in the "good 'ole days" when it was possible to hire completely unqualified people just because of personal and political ties. Fortunately for the residents of the MFPD, these days are over forever and new employees MUST be QUALIFIED to be hired. Read this:
BOARD'S HIRING OF CHIEF'S SON SPARKS CRITICISM
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - July 25, 1996
Author: By Colleen Bradford ; Of The Post-Dispatch Staff
The Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors ignored its own hiring policy recently by hiring the fire chief's son as a firefighter, bypassing numerous applicants who already have training that the chief's son lacks.
The district will pay $2,000 for the training, while other firefighters paid for their own training at the Greater St. Louis Fire Academy. (TruthDetector: Can you say SPECIAL TREATMENT?)
Mike Gaterman, son of Chief Joseph Gaterman, had been working part time as a maintenance worker for the district for about six months when the board announced several weeks ago that, as of Sept. 9, he would be transferred to the fire division and sent to the academy. (TruthDetector: No fire fighting experience necessary!)
The district's application packet states that all applicants for firefighter positions "must have been certified" as firefighters and emergency medical technicians. (TruthDetector: Who needs "certification" if you have connections?)
Board member Larry Youngblood said the official hiring policy doesn't apply when someone is transferred within the district. Transfers can be handled at the discretion of the board, Youngblood said. (TruthDetector: Larry Youngblood is VERY involved in the union's WAR against Hilmer and Stegman and closely cooperates thru e-mails with Dennis "Jaw Breaker" Skelton and terminated employee, Jeri Fleschert. This connection was proven in a recent depostion)
"This is a fine young man, and we saw an opportunity where we felt we could transfer him and decided to do that whether it's unusual or not," Youngblood said. "The board has to be responsible for how we man the department." (TruthDetector: The former Board under Youngblood was a rubber-stamp for the union and Fire Chief)
Since 1985, when St. Louis County began requiring that all firefighters receive certification from the academy, the district has apparently never allowed an employee to transfer without going through the same application process as others in that division. (TruthDetector: Mike Gaterman was special, he didn't NEED certification - he was the Chief's kid)
Youngblood said people are being critical simply because Mike Gaterman is the chief's son, and no regard is being given to his potential as a firefighter. (TruthDetector: Potential as a firefighter? What potential did he have other than his family linage? GATERMAN HAD NO QUALIFICATIONS WHATSOEVER TO BE A MFPD FIREFIGHTER! Local 1889 constantly gripes about "losing experienced firefighters". But when they called the shots at MFPD, they risked the public's safety to employ their unqualified cronies)
It is common in police and fire departments for sons to follow their fathers into the service. (TruthDetector: That's true, but they obeyed St. Louis County law and WENT TO FIRE ACADEMY FIRST!)
Mike Gaterman could not be reached for comment. (TruthDetector: We wonder if he would like to speak with the press about his hiring now?)
Youngblood pointed out that firefighter Jeff Martini was transferred from maintenance in 1984, and fire inspector Scott Pedrotti was transferred from dispatching in 1985. However, Martini and Pedrotti both had firefighter training before transferring, and both met the same standards applied to other applicants in their divisions. (TruthDetector: But their last name wasn't GATERMAN)
Assistant Chief John Schicke said the board is apparently interested in establishing a new policy for transfers, but said he doesn't know of a formal written policy allowing this type of transfer. He agreed that it is likely the district will see an increase in requests for transfers following Gaterman's transfer.
Already one paramedic has applied for a transfer to the fire division, a move which would require training at the academy. (TruthDetector: MORE TRAINING? A paramedic has to have more than 10 times the training of a firefighter. Yet in the old days, medics were looked down upon by the "superior" firefighters and were paid the same)
Every two years, the fire district accepts applications from those interested in working for the district as firefighters or paramedics. In the past, firefighters have been selected from that list anytime a position opened.
About 15 people on the current list of 41 firefighter applicants are still seeking work with the district. All are trained as firefighters and emergency medical technicians and have already passed the district's written test. (TruthDetector:If your name is GATERMAN, you don't NEED no friggin' written test!)
"I wouldn't be surprised if there were complaints from those on the list," Schicke said when questioned about those still seeking positions. (TruthDetector: Gee, you think?)
One man who was on the original list of firefighter applicants said he wasn't surprised by the apparent discrepancy in hiring practices. (TruthDetector: We're not surprised either - Mehlville FPD had the LEAST qualified personnel in St. Louis County for years)
"My own thoughts are that to get on there you have to know somebody," said the applicant, who asked that his name not be used. "It seems like the people who have been hired there knew somebody." (TruthDetector: Yep, that's the way it worked)
