By ANNELI FOGT
Editor
The fire department’s board of commissioners last Tuesday voted 4-1 to withdraw the plan to install new security cameras at the department’s station in town.
“We basically withdrew the resolution; it’s history,” Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) board chair Candy McCullough said. “We’re not going to get (new) cameras at this point.”
The vote came about a month after the board approved the project that would have installed a security camera system to monitor the areas around the station, the inside of the maintenance and vehicle bays and the training area. Commissioner Ron Turner initially brought up the idea in July saying the system would be a “security and management tool,” according to minutes from the July 14 board meeting.
VIFR administrators looked into the cost and usefulness of the system and reported back to the board in late October. Multiple estimates for systems had come in, and the board voted to approve the installation. All commissioners besides Rex Stratton voted in favor.
The vote to go forward immediately raised concern about surveillance and trust issues among firefighters, paramedics and commissioner-elect Brigitte Schran Brown. Firefighters who are union members began calling for negotiations, as the use of cameras for employee surveillance would constitute a change in workplace environment.
In later meetings, commissioners discussed an incident when one of the island’s homeless slept, and defecated, in the training tower. They also brought up the fact that bay doors are occassionally left open while personnel respond to calls, and that cameras would discourage that practice.
The bay door issue was addressed by VIFR Captain Brodie Smith who said the bay door issue could be addressed with training and that cameras were not the answer.
International Association of Firefighters Local 4189 President and Vashon firefighter Randy Tonkin said at the time that he was “concerned” about the message cameras in work areas would send and believed “it would do nothing but deteriorate morale and foster an atmosphere of distrust.”
Brown also jumped in and spearheaded an effort against the cameras, stating that the move was “ridiculous” and that there was no need for cameras in the bays where firefighters work. She said she believed that using the cameras as a “management tool” was a move that would completely erode the department’s morale that the administration had worked so hard for.
Amid the calls for reconsideration, VIFR Chief Hank Lipe and Assistant Chief George Brown met with the union before the meeting last Tuesday to discuss the cameras. George Brown said that the union had concerns that it brought to the board’s attention, but it was determined that the negotiation process between the union and the department would cost $10,000.
George Brown and McCullough said in interviews last week that the negotiation price tag was just too high, hence the decision to withdraw the approval vote.
“We figured we’d just forget it,” McCullough said. “Another $10,000 to go through that process is ridiculous. I was disappointed because it became this huge monster.”
She said that it is unfortunate that the department’s employees did not address their concerns earlier.
“The item was on the agenda for months,” McCullough said. “No one came to us until after we had decided to go forward with it.”
Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of the firefighter’s union, Tonkin said Monday that he is happy the commissioners heard the concerns.
“We are appreciate that our commissioners are receptive to the concerns of the employees and volunteers who serve (VIFR)” Tonkin said. “We are always looking for opportunities to foster a healthy work environment and to boost morale. The board’s … action moves us further toward that goal.”
