Donate
  • About
  • Rent College Pads
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
Search
News
Opinions
Sports
Classifieds
Comics
BMA
Events
Subscribe

Saturday, January 28, 2023
Print Archive

Eastern Echo
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Comics
  • Podcast
  • BMA
  • Events
  • Classifieds
  • Search
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinions
  • Comics
  • Podcast
  • BMA
  • Events
  • Classifieds
Search

Subscribe to the Echo

Donate to The Echo

You can support the Echo by donating through the EMU Foundation and selecting to apply your gift to a specific fund. Any of the funds listed below will provide support to the Echo.

01049 -- EMU Echo Editor Endowed Scholarship:  Provides financial support for the current EMU Echo Editor.

02414 -- Scott Stephenson Eastern Echo Scholarship:  This expendable scholarship is for the benefit of student(s) in the School of Communication, Media & Theater Arts in the College of Arts & Sciences.  It will be awarded to a full or part-time junior or senior EMU student majoring in journalism and working for the Eastern Echo.  The student should be working to self-finance their education and not be eligible for need-based grants.

00825 -- Student Media Development:  Provides support for the Student Media program.

Thank you for supporting the Echo and EMU Student Media.

Give Now


6/10/2019, 9:42pm

City of Ypsilanti hires Ken Hobbs as fire chief after public outcry over his initial rejection

Ken Hobbs has been selected as fire chief for the City of Ypsilanti after his initial rejection by the former city manager. Hobbs has served with the Ypsilanti Fire Department for 33 years.

By Dan D'Introno
City of Ypsilanti hires Ken Hobbs as fire chief after public outcry over his initial rejection
Dan D'Introno Assistant News Editor

Fire Chief Ken Hobbs at his desk.

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print

YPSILANTI, Mich. - Ken Hobbs was sworn in as the chief of the fire department on Saturday, June 8 following his initial rejection by former City Manager Darwin McClary.

McClary initially overlooked Hobbs by selecting Captain Phil Kamm of the Livonia Fire Department for the position. At the time of Kamm’s appointment by McClary, Hobbs had been the acting interim fire chief following the retirement of former Fire Chief Max Anthouard on Jan. 4.

Hobbs was well supported and respected by many members of the community including former Fire Chief Jim Roberts, Washtenaw County Commissioner Ricky Jefferson and Shoshana DeMaria, president of the Ypsilanti Willow Run Branch of the NAACP. In addition, the staff at the Ypsilanti Fire Department wrote a letter in support of Hobbs to the city council.

Hobbs said he believes if he did not have the support of the department, he would not have achieved his appointment as chief.

“When [McClary] called and says ‘I’ve offered someone else the position,’ then I did what I could . . . and that was make people aware of it . . . I couldn’t have done it without their support,” Hobbs stated in an interview on May 31.

Ypsilanti's chief of fire has been selected from within the department since its founding in 1895. Maintaining the tradition of hiring from within is a goal Hobbs hopes to achieve by preparing staff with the necessary training and experience for the position in the future.

"I felt like I was obligated to do this because I was internal," he said. "I went through the assessment center and that’s something we’d never done before, so I prepared myself . . . I prepared myself to go through the oral interviews. I went through the oral interviews. We went from 10 candidates to two . . . it took a week to make a decision . . . (even so) I was not anticipating getting the job.”

Ypsilanti Mayor Beth Bashert revealed that Kamm had already signed an employment contract for the position by the time of McClary’s resignation, according to an article by MLive. However, Hobbs has stated that to his knowledge Kamm did not sign the contract.

Kamm was made an offer and it was rescinded when it became clear that McClary was to be terminated, according to Hobbs. However, it was announced through a City of Ypsilanti Professional Firefighters Local 401 Facebook post on May 11 that Hobbs had been welcomed as the new fire chief.

In the Ypsilanti community, there has been speculation that racial motivations came into play in the hiring of Kamm, who is white, over Hobbs, who is African-American.

According to the Ypsilanti City Attorney, John Barr, within Hobbs’ employment contract, there is a clause which mandates a non-disparagement agreement. This agreement prevents Hobbs, as employee of the city, from speculating McClary’s decision not to hire him. When being interviewed Hobbs was “tactful” with his word choice.

When asked about these negotiations, he stated that he was in an “awkward spot.” The department had been without a contract for two years and contract negotiations were focused primarily on health care benefits, retirement benefits and wages.

In a special city council meeting on March 7 regarding the controversy of the fire chief selection, the Ypsilanti City Council voted unanimously to accept the resignation of former City Manager Darwin McClary in a 7-0 vote.

The meeting had 30 minutes allocated for public comment prior to a closed session to further discuss McClary’s resignation with the city attorney and a labor attorney. Fifteen members of the community came out to speak in favor of Hobbs. Resolutions No. 2019-052 and 053 both passed 7-0 with Andrew Hellenga as the new acting city clerk and the new city manager as Frances McMullan.

At a City Council meeting on March 5, 15 additional community members came out in support of Hobbs, including Mayor Pro Tempore Lois Richardson.

During the March 7 meeting, McClary stated that the basis of his decision to select Captain Kamm as fire chief was made due to his credentials, which he believed surpassed those of Hobbs.

Ypsilanti’s fire department has had to reduce its staff due to financial constraints, according to Hobbs. Because of reduced staffing in both the City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, as well as the limited staffing available in Superior Township, all three municipalities have an automatic mutual aid agreement.

Hobbs said that in the event of a fire, the city would receive assistance from Ypsilanti and Superior Townships. The city’s fire department is currently being staffed by 15 personnel. However, Hobbs considers the department to be experiencing a “transitional period.”

The department recently received a second Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, allowing for the hiring of four new staff for three years.

This, along with an agreement from the city to hire two new staff, will allow the department to have 21 total staff. Of these 21 staff, 10 are probationary firefighters, meaning they are in their first year of service with the department.

“It’s kind of an exciting time right now because there’s so much change-over, but it's kind of like all that unknown,“ Hobbs said. “You work with a lot of guys, you learn their personalities, and we’ve got a lot of new people and with a lot of new personalities, and you’ve got to figure out how everyone fits together . . . It’s a lot to look forward, but a lot to do.”

Share



Related Stories

Potential candidates to fill the vacant 3rd Ward seat interview at city hall on Tuesday, May 28.

Candidates interview for 3rd Ward seat

By Andrew Lenzo

Murdock.jpg

Ypsilanti loses former mayor

By Ashlee Buhler

NAACP President Kya Fordham reads off the list of demands of affected students at today's rally.

Recent Campus Hate Incident Displays EMU’s Lack of Protective Policy

By Malaya Elgarico and Arica Frisbey


The Eastern Echo welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.


Most Popular


1/24/2023, 8:00am

From tumbling to trending: EMU cheerleader gains 2.4 million views on recent TikTok

By Mackenzie Thompson

Eastern Michigan University cheerleader Olivia Fields' TikTok video at recent basketball game reaches 2.4 million views.


1/23/2023, 12:00am

EMU men's basketball game vs. NIU draws in record-breaking attendance


1/25/2023, 3:00pm

Daiquan White: Born a dawg


1/23/2023, 8:00am

EMU Police Department hosts free ALICE training sessions


Podcast


11/10/2022, 11:35am

TheBlockE Podcast


11/8/2022, 11:35am

Student Interview: Pritish Kokate - The Eastern Echo Podcast Ep. 5


11/3/2022, 5:58pm

Special episode: EMU Journalism Professor Dr. You Li speaks with EMU alumni Nathan Bomey


10/27/2022, 6:03pm

Interview w/ Ronia Cabansag - The Eastern Echo Podcast Ep. 3


Tweets by TheEasternEcho
Eastern Michigan Echo To Homepage
  • About
  • Jobs
  • Freelance
  • Submissions
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Distribution

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2023 The Eastern Echo

Powered by Solutions by The State News.