Baker: Interim pick leads Fire Rescue
County administrator gives no timeline for permanent replacement.
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker made it clear Wednesday that interim Fire Rescue Chief Michael Mackey — not former Chief Jeffrey Collins — leads the department now in the wake of sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuits filed by several employees.
Collins resigned on Friday, but he rescinded that resignation on Monday, saying Baker and other county executives had coerced and forced him and placed him “under undue duress” in urging him to quit.
In an exclusive interview with
The Palm Beach Post on Wednesday, Baker would not address Collins’ allegations. But she did say Mackey, a veteran Fire Rescue officer with 30 years of experi-
ence, is now in charge.
“I believe that interim Fire Chief Mackey is the best person to serve as the interim right now,” Baker said. “He’s done some very good work for the county, and I believe he’s the right person to fill this gap at this time.”
Baker would not give a timeline for when she will name a permanent successor to Collins.
In December, The Post reported first that Fire Rescue Capt. Amanda Vomero had filed suit against the department and the county, alleging that Division Chief Chris Hoch repeated sexual rumors about her and retaliated against her when she complained. That news story also noted a lawsuit filed by Vomero’s supervisor, Divi- sion Chief Joey Cooper, who alleged that Collins retaliated against him after he testified on Vomero’s behalf in an internal investigation of her complaint and after he attempted to investigate a complaint of sexual harass- ment made against Hoch by another female firefighter.
Hoch was given a written reprimand last year for vio- lating county rules against harassment and retaliation in the workplace. He has denied all of the allegations against him.
In addition to the Vomero and Collins suits, a Fire Rescue 911 dispatcher filed suit in 2016 against the county and a co-worker, whom she said sexually assaulted her. Donna Lohbauer’s suit came nearly two years after the alleged incident and more than 19 months after Fire-Rescue fired Stephen Hawks, a com- puter technician.
Lohbauer’s suit, which remai n s open, says the county knew Hawks had a history of inappropriately touching female employees.
An internal investigation into Vomero’s allegations against Hoch found that a hostile work environment existed within Fire Rescue. That investigation concluded 16 months after Vomero filed her initial complaint.
A letter from “The Anonymous Women of Palm Beach County Fire Rescue” urged Baker to fire Collins, saying Hoch’s written reprimand was “woefully insufficient” to send the signal that harass- ment and retaliation won’t be tolerated.
Mindful of legal action Collins might still bring against the county, Baker would not address the work climate at Fire Rescue or whether she was aware of what some employees say was happen- ing there.
She reiterated that she has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and retaliation.
“I will not knowingly tolerate a hostile work envi- ronment for any employee, regardless of what depart- ment they are in,” she said Wednesday. “We have policies and procedures that we require all employees to follow. There are going to be times when people don’t necessarily agree. There should still not be grounds for anyone to be uncomfortable in their work environment. That’s overall. That’s not tar- geted to Fire Rescue. That is for our entire organization. We believe in a team approach, Team PBC. That means we need to be civil to each other, respect each other and work cooperatively together.”
Baker said she’s proud of the employees of the county.
“A lot of us have grown up together,” she said. “We truly know and understand each other, and we understand that times are changing. Culture is changing within our work environment. Our community is much more diverse than when I first moved here and started working for the county. It is my goal to ensure that our workforce hires the best and the brightest and is inclusive. Hopefully, that sends the message that we hire based upon people’s expertise and that women and others have an opportunity to succeed in this organization.”
While Baker would not say whether she sought Collins’ resignation, she did underscore her desire to see a change in the department’s leadership.
“I am looking to move in a different direction as I talked about cultures changing in our community,” she said. “This, I think, was the appropriate time to make the change, and we are moving on.”
Baker reiterated that she has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and retaliation.