Eldridge: Horry Fire Chief December suspension result of ‘lack of trust’

Horry County Fire Rescue Chief Fred Crosby was suspended for a week, without pay, in December for inefficiency in performing management duties, violation of county policies and because he reportedly “caused unharmonious relationships with your supervisors and coworkers,” according to an Horry County disciplinary report.

The Sun News filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the county seeking the report, which is dated Dec. 15. Crosby, who has been chief since Nov. 15, 2012, did not receive pay for the week. He earns $105,083.68 annually, according to the county.

Crosby refuted the report with the following statement in the employee’s comment section: “I respectfully disagree with the assumptions in this. I do believe I have failed to communicate adequately and will modify my actions.”

Crosby said via email: “The county does not comment on personnel issues.”

The disciplinary report was issued and signed by County Administrator Chris Eldridge.

Lisa Bourcier, spokeswoman for the county, said staff does not comment on personnel issues.

Eldridge’s comments on the report indicate there was an issue with informal blogs, emails and other communications to staff reportedly sent by Crosby for “rumor control.” The report accuses Crosby of “failing to properly follow your chain of command to the Administrator with regard to various issues, engaging in unauthorized communications to staff concerning ‘brown outs’ and propay and initiating direct communications with County Council without consulting or informing Administrator.”

It was unclear in the disciplinary report what Crosby was referring to as a brown out.

The report accuses Crosby of trying to go around the county’s procurement processes to accomplish unapproved agenda items, which were disapproved by Eldridge.

It was unclear about what those agenda items were.

Crosby is accused of inappropriately issuing communications to staff concerning confidential requests for information and points of discussion by Eldridge, “resulting in confusion and disharmony within your department.”

Eldridge goes on to criticize Crosby’s clothing, calling it “unprofessional” when Crosby wears a ball cap. Eldridge said Crosby’s attire portrayed a negative image for the fire/rescue department and caused “embarrassment.”

The disciplinary report claims Crosby issued informal written reprimand letters without prior consultation of the county’s human resources department or Eldridge.

It was unclear who the letters of reprimand were directed toward.

Eldridge claims Crosby failed to work with him to address overtime cost overruns, creating a budget shortfall and “unharmonious relationships.”

“These actions demonstrate a failure of leadership and negatively impact the operations of the county and fire/rescue department, resulting in a lack of trust and unharmonious relationship with the administrator,” Eldridge wrote. “Your actions undermine the credibility of the department and administration, and diminish the efficiency of operations, causing cost overruns and unharmonious relationships and an increase of the county’s costs and risk exposure.”

Crosby began reporting directly to Eldridge in September when Paul Whitten, assistant administrator for public safety, resigned. A request for past performance reviews for Whitten showed performance reviews of “good” and “great” under previous administrators. Whitten’s lone review under Eldridge showed his disappointment in Whitten’s communication, problem solving, staffing, quality improvement, which is the ability to develop new ideas or methods without being urged, and judgment and decision making, which, according to the evaluation, is determined by the ability to come to a conclusion based on the information available.

An examination of Crosby’s only performance review, which was in July 2013 and issued by Whitten, called Crosby an “extraordinary leader” whose “strongest trait is his ability to effectively communicate.”

Crosby has been referred to as a “fireman’s fire chief,” having spent 34 years as a firefighter in Hanover County, Va., before serving as acting chief in Horry County toward the end of 2012. He was named chief near the start of 2013.

There was a big emphasis on his approach to volunteer firefighters, where the department saw a 37 percent increase within the first 30 days of his tenure, according to published reports.

Crosby wasted no time recruiting support for a 3.5 millage property tax increase proposed to help the county’s ailing fire department. By June, Crosby learned the squad would be able to replace an older fleet of vehicles, increase its training and increase its manpower at six stations when County Council approved a 6 mill tax increase as part of its 2014 budget.

Under Crosby’s plan, the department will replace 18 vehicles that are at least 23 years old. It will also have the funds to allow for overtime, which was cut during the downturn of the economy in recent years. It will now have a third rescue unit, and take six stations in the county to three-man engine companies.

The department has been sued three times under Crosby’s short watch and Crosby, himself, has been sued twice.

Everette Long, a former Horry County Fire Rescue lieutenant, is suing the agency, saying Crosby wouldn’t fulfill a promise to rehire him after his criminal charges were dismissed.

In April, former firefighter/paramedic Kenneth Small, a 27-year veteran of the agency, sued HCFR, Crosby and two assistant chiefs. Small says in court papers that on April 17, 2013, he responded to a medical emergency call at a resident’s home. Because several vehicles were parked outside the dwelling, it made removing the female patient difficult.

The third lawsuit was filed in December. In that case, four veteran firefighter/paramedics are suing to recoup years’ worth of lost wages. They argue that when HCFR created a “propay” system in 2008, that program was supposed to relegate firefighter/paramedics to a lower grade on the agency’s salary scale and reward them with a $7,500 propay increase for training in both fields.

This story was originally published January 20, 2015 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Eldridge: Horry Fire Chief December suspension result of ‘lack of trust’."