Bronson Fire Chief Misses Meeting; Secret Administrative Order Suspends Him

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

Bronson Fire Chief Dennis Russell has been removed from active duty by a secret administrative order that sidelines him for 30 days.

The situation came to light at Monday’s Bronson Town Council meeting when Russell wasn’t present, but his captain, Gail Foote, appeared on the agenda as the Interim Chief.

City officials wouldn’t say much at the meeting when asked why Russell was absent. Councilwoman Virginia Phillips said she thought it had something to do with Russell injuring his ankle.

When Spotlight called Russell on his city cell phone number after the meeting hoping to get a comment, Foote answered the phone. Asked why Russell wasn’t chief, he said he couldn’t say much.

“It was personal,” he said.

Foote is well qualified to hold the position of fire chief or interim chief, temporarily or permanently, but the council and Town Manager Susan Beaudet have remained largely silent on why Russell is on administrative leave.

It appears Russell was given desk duty again as a result of a medical issue. The first time he was given desk duty was when Beaudet said he couldn’t serve actively as a fire chief due to a serious injury to his foot.

Russell told Spotlight at the time he had been bitten by a spider while on a camping trip with his family. The injury got worse and he started limping. He was placed on administrative leave. He butted heads with Beaudet on the issue of being suspended from active duty.

Beaudet referred Spotlight’s request to see the latest administrative order regarding Russell to Town Attorney Steven Warm for a response. Spotlight had been told by the State Attorney’s office that Russell’s personnel file was a public record. Spotlight asked to see the file and the administrative order suspending Russell from duty which is in the file.

Warm said medical information isn’t a public record.

“Your request for information regarding the administrative leave for Fire Chief Russell has been referred to me for response,” Warm said in a July 27 letter. “There is a reluctance to provide such information for reasons of privacy confidentiality and because it would involve medical information which is exempt from disclosure. Your note says you have consulted with the State Attorney who confirmed your entitlement. If you have that in writing I would be most interested to see it. If it’s merely verbal, I’m sure you can understand that hearsay does not carry a great deal of weight. We are continuing to consider the matter to see if there is some resolution that will navigate appropriately between the realms of disclosure and privacy in the interest of all concerned.”

Warm’s comment on medical matters being private is an apparent reference to the federal medical privacy law – HIPPA – the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which protects a person’s medical information from being disclosed to unauthorized persons. Warm is saying the city is prohibited from releasing Russell’s medical information to the public under the provisions of HIPPA.

Spotlight told Beaudet if the city didn’t release Russell’s personnel file and Town Attorney Steven Warm supported the decision, the Attorney General’s office would be contacted for clarification.

Spotlight reminded Warm that the city has gone through this medical issue with Russell previously and the information about the spider bite and the resulting administrative suspension the first time had previously been discussed in a story with Russell’s consent.

“Other subtleties aside and as you mention yourself, at least some of this involves medical issues and you’re probably familiar with the extent to which such things are protected from disclosure,” Warm wrote on July 28. “We’re still looking into what is and isn’t discoverable. It is common practice to redact certain things from right-to-know disclosure and I don’t think that removal – where warranted – is any different if what is removed is protected. We’ll be in touch further on this.”

If the matter isn’t resolved, Spotlight reserves the right to contact the Attorney General’s office for clarification.