Westside firefighter had to go, court told
Former West Kelowna CEO says he didn’t see how assistant fire chief could continue in his job after choosing to drive district truck while intoxicated
The decision to fire West Kelowna assistant fire chief Kerry Klonteig in 2013 was a quick one for the district’s chief administrative officer, who said Klonteig choosing to drive a district vehicle while intoxicated was a severe lack of judgment.
In October 2013, Klonteig was pulled over on the William R. Bennett Bridge and found to be intoxicated.
He was off duty, but was driving a District of West Kelowna fire department pickup truck.
Klonteig is suing West Kelowna, then a district but now a city, for wrongful dismissal and is seeking $150,000 from his former employer.
West Kelowna fire Chief Wayne Schnitzler and human resources manager Patty Tracy came into Jason Johnson’s office one Monday morning to inform him of Klonteig’s driving incident, a Kelowna court heard Thursday.
“Chief Schnitzler was visibly shaken, and they came to tell me Mr. Klonteig had received a 24-hour licence suspension and had our vehicle impounded after being pulled over . . . as a result of drinking and driving,” said Johnson.
Later that day, Johnson learned Klonteig had actually received a 90-day driving prohibition and the vehicle had been impounded for 30 days.
Council was to meet the next day, and Johnson chose to bring the incident to the attention of the mayor and council during an in-camera meeting.
“Given the nature of this incident, I wanted council to be aware so they weren’t surprised,” he said. “I let council know that it was my intention to terminate Mr. Klonteig’s employment, given the severity of his actions and the consequences to the District of West Kelowna taxpayer and the reputation of the district.”
Council was supportive of his decision, said Johnson, adding he then instructed Schnitzler and Tracy to put together a termination letter.
“The fact that Mr. Klonteig decided to drive a district vehicle while under the influence of alcohol was one of the main factors in that decision,” said Johnson.
“In my 22-year history, I’ve never had somebody make a decision like that that could cause such irreparable harm to members of the public and to the District of West Kelowna taxpayer, as well as the reputation of the District of West Kelowna.”
There were some discussions between Johnson, Schnitzler and Tracy about the termination, but Johnson said the decision had been made and it was ultimately his decision to make.
“To permit someone to retain their employment based on such a severe lack of judgment to drive a
district vehicle while intoxicated wasn’t something that I thought was appropriate as a member of the District of West Kelowna staff,” he said. “I also thought that it would irreparably harm his reputation within the department and irreparably harm his ability to provide a public function with the District of West Kelowna.”
Klonteig was not charged with impaired driving, but Johnson said that was irrelevant to his decision.
“Criminal or not, it’s a situation that put the District of West Kelowna in the greatest of peril,” he said.
Johnson said he did not consider giving Klonteig any warning letters before firing him.
The suit continues.