April 1, 2010

Reidland-Farley Fire Department trustees have filed administrative charges against suspended Chief Richard Tapp.

He is accused of inefficiency and violating terms of his employment contract because he is unable or unwilling to work because of an unspecified illness, according to the charges sent to him Tuesday. The Sun obtained a copy Wednesday under provisions of the Open Records Law.

A hearing will be held at 7 p.m. April 12. If Tapp is found guilty, he’ll be fired, according to the documents. Tapp will decide if the hearing will be open to the public and news media.

Tapp’s home in Reidland is for sale, and he has been living in Bartlett, Tenn., near Memphis since late last year. He’s been the only paid chief of a McCracken County volunteer fire department and made about $60,000 a year.

Trustees and their attorney, David Kelly, said they could not comment on the proceedings because it is an administrative legal proceeding. Tapp, hired as chief in August 2002, was suspended without pay on Dec. 16 after failing to report to work for more than two weeks and failing to notify trustee chairman David Humphrey of his status.

Before administrative charges could be filed, Tapp requested and received a 90-day unpaid leave under the federal Medical Leave Act, which delayed the filing of charges.

His leave expired Friday, and Tapp informed trustees he was still being treated for an illness.

Count 1 of the charges says, “It remains inefficient for the fire district to continue
employing respondent (Tapp) as specified in his employment agreement and particularly since he is unable or unwilling to provide any indication of when he would be able to perform his fire chief duties.”

Count 2 said his inability to work violates the terms of his contract “and also constitutes inefficiency and cause for termination of the agreement.”

Trustees last year raised questions about Tapp’s management of the department after it purchased a $267,000 fire and rescue boat that obligated the district to spend an additional $100,000 and cover more than 200 miles of river in four states.

Questions increased after an audit revealed undocumented expenses and Tapp and another employee being paid twice for the same pay period.

Tapp has declined comment on the issues and wasn’t available to comment on the administrative charges.