Do you love Amazon? It is hard to believe that there is one website where you could literally scroll and find anything and everything you want. Half the time, you can find items to buy that you did not even know you need, until low and behold your eyes see it! The dangers of scrolling can hit the pocketbook. We like to look at how the city spends our tax dollars, and it is kind of like Amazon. They spend money like they are shopping on Amazon, adding items to the cart and when they are bored they just look for something that tickles their fancy.
Imagine our surprise when scrolling through the city agendas, we found another interesting item from the July 2nd City Council Meeting related to purchasing authority. Daniel Ford, Director of Administrative Services sent a memo to the Mayor, Members of the Frisco City Council, and cc’d in Wes Pierson – City Manager and E.A. Hoppe – Assistant City Manager asking them to consider a change to the ordinance granting purchasing authority to the City Manager or his/her designee for all budgeted items not exceeding $100,000.
In 2017, the City Council approved a threshold increase from $25,000 to $50,000. Why are they now wanting to change it to $100,000? The memo states the request is being made to streamline the contract approval process, expedite routine non-controversial purchases, and to reduce the administrative burden on staff, while maintaining compliance and transparency.The word transparency made us laugh!
The memo goes on to read that in 2018 the purchasing of items on the consent agenda was 117 for the full year. Now they claim it has gone up to 245 for the full year and this change would reduce the administrative and processing time for putting council items together by almost two weeks. It also states the increase would allow more flexibility and efficiency to handle these agreements. HOW DOES MAINTAINING TRANSPARENCY AND FLEXIBILITY GO TOGETHER?
Would you be surprised to learn that Agenda Item #30 passed and was APPROVED 6 – 0. The new ORDINANCE 2024-07-32 basically allows the city to spend more with less oversight. How is that transparent? Who determines what is a ROUTINE AND NON-CONTROVERSIAL purchase? Oh yeah, the city determines that that! If one of the council members knocked on your door and said I need 100,000, don’t ask questions, just trust me, would you? The staff is asking to reduce the administrative burden they face so they want to be paid the same but have their workload made easier or do less work.
Does anyone besides us see an issue with this Ordinance? Interesting how they threw it on the agenda before the Summer Vacation break, don’t you think? Why does the city always claim they are taking steps to be more TRANSPARENT, yet they send almost every single PIR to the Attorney General and hide information from the public? If you think this is a bad change then you should email your city council and city manager. Now they claim in this memo they want to spend more with less oversight to be more transparent.
When I was a kid, my dad used to say “listen to your 5 senses” because they will protect you. As a kid, I had no idea what he meant but as an adult, I understand the information collected by our five primary senses helps detect danger and allows our brains to understand and react to our surroundings. Personally, I always thought it was my bull shit meter, you know the internal gauge for detecting deception, insincerity, or exaggerated claims that made me smart. I think my wife got it right because she tells me the reason, I am such a good detective is due to the marriage of my “spidey senses” and my bull shit meter. She hit the nail on the head!
When we first heard in May 2023 that the City of Frisco fired 27-year veteran, Cameron Kraemer from the Fire Department over a work-related illness, we knew there had to be more to the story. Immediately our team started reaching out to sources within the city and it was a game of silence from all sides. Then we heard Mr. Kraemer might speak at citizens’ input, and we wanted to make sure we watched the meeting. First person to speak was Matt Sapp, President of the Firefighters Assoc and watching it today, it explains so much why our FD is fighting for Prop A & B during this election cycle.
Then we watched Mr. Kraemer speak at the city council meeting and it was enough to break anyone’s heart. A man poured out his soul and admitted to the public he had PTSD, a mental health issue, and the city should be ashamed of how they have treated him and the response from the council…nothing. We have a video with some highlights, but you can see the full video by clicking the link.
At the end of citizens’ input, we were caught off guard when Mr. Wes Pierson, our new city manager leaned forward and announced he had something to say regarding Cameron Kraemer. This is the man who through the whole meeting sits back with a smug look on his face, swaying in his chair with an overall arrogance about him. We listened to him, and his words were so cold, so impersonal, and then we thought how did he have this whole speech prepared and ready to go that night? Had he heard that Kraemer maybe attending the meeting, or did he write it on the fly? Either way, alarm bells were ringing in my head.
My spidey sense bull shit meter went through the roof, and I was sure we were on to something, but what? Time went by and we followed the case. Kraemer and the Fire Association fought the city on whether his illness (PTSD) was work related and he won. Simply put, the city should hire him back or offer him a path back to work. However, the city is choosing to dig in their heels and skirt responsibility so Kraemer will likely end up suing the city which will cost the taxpayers. Because it is under wraps it is hard to follow the case and we thought our research was over.
Then fast forward to election time, where a new PAC is created called Safety Frisco First. We told you about this PAC in our blog The Secret PAC. We quickly noticed that Bill Woodard and City Shady Bunch running the PAC were putting out a lot of details and documents and none of them went to fighting the purpose. This raised our curiosity because the documents seemed more personal in nature and directed at a few specific individuals to malign and attack their character. It felt like the page was being used by the city to say the things they want to say but cannot say.
We filed two PIRs with the City. The first was for copies of any PIR requests and the corresponding documents made from Bill Woodard, Mike Simpson, Dick or Richard Peasley, Safety First Frisco PAC from 1/1/22 to Present. As you can guess the city has sent that to Texas AG in order to delay releasing the documents. What do you think they are hiding?
Then we filed another PIR for any emails, text, or handwritten correspondence between city officials regarding the Frisco Fire Association Prop A & B. Guess what…they sent it to the Texas AG to delay releasing the documents. What do you think they are trying to hide until after the election is over?
The PAC website has a document called “Letter from Weston Fire Chief regarding Asst Chief Kraemer,” but what does that have to do with fighting civil service or collective bargaining? The letter was a clear attack on a 27-year First Responder who worked for the City of Frisco, to discredit him. We kept asking ourselves, what does this letter have to do with the PACs purpose? Time to find some answers.
Our first question is, how did the PAC get these documents? Well of course they would have to go through the formal process like us and file a PIR, right? On 2/26/24 we filed a PIR that reads, “We recently visited the Safety-First Frisco PAC website, and we noticed a section called Resources that has the following documents which we listed out. All of these documents would have to have been obtained through a PIR or a series of PIRs so we would like to see the specific PIR(s) requests for the following information above.”
We got an email back on 3/8/24 and a few things piqued our interest in the city’s response. It said the Presentation to City Council regarding Salary Adjustments was NOT a PIR release. The document was released at the November 21, 2023, Budget and Audit Committee Meeting. Then they said the Letter from Western Fire Chief re Asst Chief Kraemer was NOT a PIR release. Lastly the Report on Residential Fire – 4 on a Truck was NOT a PIR release. HELLO, how did SFF get three documents, one appearing to being related to an HR file without filing a PIR and how would they know such a letter exists like that if it is in an HR file? Councilman Bill Woodard must have known about these documents due to his position which he is now using for political purposes for a PAC that he heads up. Ethical?
Next, we filed PIRs with the City of Weston and asked for a copy of any PIRs, and corresponding documents made by Bill Woodard or representatives from the City of Frisco. The response, “The City of Weston has not received any PIR request from Bill Woodard or any requests from the City of Frisco.” We also did a search of Weston’s agendas for the last few years, and you won’t believe what we found.
Guess who the City Attorney is for the City of Weston? Richard Abernathy (same as the City of Frisco)
Guess who the City of Weston hired as a city manager consultant? George Purefoy (former city manager for the City of Frisco)
Guess who the City of Weston hired as a fire consultant? Mack Borchardt, who CURRENTLY WORKS FOR THE CITY OF FRISCO AS SPECIAL CONSULTANT FOR THE CITY MANAGER. Wait, so we taxpayers are paying Borchardt, and he is allowed to work for other cities and make money at the same time?
Next, we went to Weston Fire and Rescue and filed a PIR and we asked for four things, response from Weston F&R are in bold;
I would like a copy of any PIR request and the corresponding documents returned in the PIR request from the City of Frisco relating to Cameron Kraemer and his time volunteering, serving as Captain, or working in the last three years. The PIR or request could have been done by text, email, or handwritten (formal or informal). WFR has no documentation.
I would like a copy of any PIR or request (formal or informal) from consultants named Mack Borchardt and/or George Purefoy (who are also consultants for The City of Weston) relating to Cameron Kraemer and his time volunteering, consulting, or working with the Weston FD in the last three years. WFR has no documentation.
I would like a copy of the letter from Kevin Deal (Former Fire Chief) supplied to the City of Frisco regarding Cameron Kraemer and the time he spent with Weston FD, and I would like to know if anyone else has requested this letter in the last two years. Attached and only you requested it
We could not believe our eyes! They attached the letter and right there in front of us we started to compare the letter supplied to the City of Frisco. We about fell over because the letters don’t MATCH!
What are the differences:
Weston F&R: No Date vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: The letter is dated
Weston F&R: To Whom It May Concern vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: addressed to whom it may concern and Attn: Wes Pierson
Weston F&R: Signature vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: Signature = TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT SIGNATURES!
We would love it if the City of Frisco and/or The Safety-First Frisco PAC tell us how we have 2 totally different letters. While the body is the same nothing else is and that is alarming. It very clearly looks like the letter was forged or is a fake. Now we have so much more to this investigation to come but ask yourself, why does the City of Frisco want you to believe former Fire Chief Mark Piland was this horrible Fire Chief but according to his EVAL and his employment history he has NEVER been written up in 40-year career. Yet when he comes to work for Frisco, they want us to believe with perfect EVALS that he was such a bad leader? Now we have the Assistant Fire Chief whom they want us to believe is this horrible person even though he was only written up once in 27 years for bringing a smoker trailer on the property. They provide a letter that looks nothing like the original sent to the city and somehow the PAC gets it to post on their website. This letter just happens to show up to help the city’s case and they have 3 people contracting with the city with ties to The City of Frisco. We would think that this letter would be a part of someone’s personal or HR file, so how did the PAC get it? If you released it to the PAC, then does that mean we can go back to the Texas AG to review previous requests of HR files to reopen where you made a claim, they were confidential?
We have so much more on this to peel apart and will blog again soon. Ask yourself does this look like a targeted campaign to destroy two men’s lives and reputations? It does to us, and the question is for what? It all goes back to Sassy Lauren Safranek the HR DIRECTOR who falsified records. Also ask yourself if The VOTE NO PAC is willing to post a forged letter what else have they lied to you about? Lastly, did any of our current council including the two running for re-election know the letter had been modified before posted to the PAC site? What we do know for sure, is something smells like Shit in Frisco, and we are curious what part Bobblehead Bill Woodard is involved in?
Are you ready for another adventure, well let’s visit Fort Collins, Colorado. Every few years the Frisco Chamber hosts a “Leadership Event” and according to the website it’s an opportunity to build new – and strengthen existing – connections among the Frisco business and community leaders that you otherwise may not have the opportunity or time to engage with. In English they mean it is a chance for the “commoners” to spend three glorious days collaborating and partnership building with the “important people.”
The event was held September 12 to 15, 2023 in Fort Collins, Colorado. According to the Chambers website the destination “offers a blend of outdoor adventure, cultural attractions, and a thriving business community. In September, when we will be visiting, the city is particularly beautiful with its golden aspens and crisp autumn air. The downtown area is full of art galleries, independent shops, and restaurants. The city is also known for its commitment to sustainability and its collaborative spirit.”
What is the goal of these fun trips on taxpayer dollars?To help shape the “Future of Frisco.” You can be an INVESTOR at different levels. The “Innovator Investor” costs $4000 and the description reads, “Lead community enrichment as the Innovator Investor. Your investment drives program growth, offers brand exposure, and shapes our community’s future. Benefit from positive community association, visibility, and impactful connections. The “Visionary Investor” is $3000, and the description reads, “Propel community progress as a Visionary Investor. Your investment aids program growth, aligns your brand with community investment, and supports valuable experiences for community development. Enhance your brand’s image while contributing to community success. Blah, Blah, Blah…
Lastly you can just be an “Attendee” which is $3250, and it includes airfare, hotel, transportation, and most meals. A few city insiders told us in the past maybe one to 3 people from the city attended these trips. However, in recent years Mayor Cheney turned it into the “Popular Club” trip on taxpayer dollars and felt that everyone in the city should go. We were curious of course over the last few years, who went?
In 2019, Council Member Will Sowell and John Lettellier, Director of Development Services were the only 2 from the city to attend the trip. Then in 2022, that number jumped to six which included four council members and two city officials. Last year in 2023, it jumped to 12 people which included five city council members and eight city officials. It is important to note that 1 to 2 months after the 2023 trip one attendee Paul Knipple, City of Frisco – Director of Engineering, left the city and took a position at the City of Westminster, Colorado. Do the math: 12 people x $3250 = $39,000 of taxpayer dollars.
Next we have Visit Frisco, the official destination marketing organization for the City of Frisco. According to the website it is their mission to generate a positive awareness of Frisco as a premier destination for meetings, sporting events, conventions, trade shows, leisure travel, and to positively impact the economic base of the City of Frisco. In 2019, zero reps from Visit Frisco attended the Leadership Trip. In 2022, one Visit Frisco rep attended the trip. Last year in 2023, Marla Roe the Executive Director attended the trip which cost taxpayers $3250.
What about the Frisco Economic Development Corporation? Well in 2019, two EDC reps attended and in 2022, one EDC rep attended the trip. Last year in 2023, two Frisco EDC reps attended the trip which is $6500 in taxpayer dollars.
Then we have the Frisco Independent School District, wait what? In 2019, two trustees attended, and zero attend in 2022. Last year in 2023, three Board of Trustee representatives attended which include Dynette Davis – Board President, Gopal Ponangi – Vice President, and Rene Archambault – Board Secretary. First, why did any member from the ISD Board of Trustee’s need to attend these trips? Secondly, when did Financial Hot Mess Express better known as Dynette Davis become the President? That means 3 x $3250 = $9750 of taxpayer dollars – but whose counting…oh wait we are!
Now it is a Chamber Leadership event, so we would expect several representatives of the Chamber to attend. In 2019 and 2022, the same four chamber representatives went. Last year, five chamber representatives went. Two representatives from the Frisco Economic Development Corporation include Stephanie Wagoner – Director of Business Retention & Expansion, Gloria Salinas – Vice President also attended. That means 7 x $3250 = $22,750 dollars.
Then we had a few people attend that held a place on local boards or committees. For example, Donna Schmittler of the Heritage Association and Danny Mehta with the Downtown Advisory Board. We also know Jake Petras attended who at the time was on the Planning & Zoning Board, but according to the registration it shows him under a business name. We don’t know if the city paid for Schmittler or Petras, but we did receive a registration confirmation for Danny Mehta. Add another $3250 dollars
It really was a “Who’s Who of Frisco” aka “Developer Friends” of the mayor and council that attended from the business community. A few stood out on the list like Lori Medina, owner of MedinaUSA, also the Mayors Chief of Staff for several years, and his campaign manager. She is also currently helping Angelia Pelahm in her re-election bid this year. The other person to stand out is Jake Petras who went under his real estate business name but was a current member of the Planning and Zoning Board. Correction, shortly after the trip was over he was quietly removed from the P&Z board for an ”incident” that happened in Fort Collins. You probably recognize other big names like Hillwood, PGA, Hall Group, Wilks Development FireFly Park, Rollertown Beerworks, Tumbleweed TexStyles and Dallas Cowboys.
It makes sense of course because obviously there was a heavy focus on the downtown area of Fort Collins as the City of Frisco is in the middle of a multi-pronged project to redesign and improve the infrastructure of Frisco’s downtown. The trip was well documented by another attendee Audrey Henvey for Star Local Media and Frisco Enterprise. “On Sept. 13, Frisco’s city leaders, city staff, school district representatives and business community members soaked up the kaleidoscope of components that make up downtown Fort Collins, Colorado. They took in the color explosion of flower beds nestled throughout the area — a product of the city’s downtown flower project. They took note of the outdoor painted piano, the murals on transformer cabinets and the activated alleyways featuring strung lights.“ Cheney is quoted in the article as saying, ““So we need to make some very strategic decisions, truly, over the next couple of months, adding that work will also continue with Velocity Group, a consultant hired by the city to help forge a vision for the Rail District.” Wonder how much that is costing taxpayers? Lastly, Cheney is quoted as saying, “Just seeing the horticulture they do and all the flowers is just so beautiful, and it helps them create that civic pride,”
The only question we have is, why didn’t the council and city officials who have been very vocal to the Frisco Animal Advocate community, that they would only consider a public/private partnership for an animal shelter stop by NOCO Humane? Who are they? Well, they are the PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNER TO THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS to provide animal protection and control services. If they were out there on taxpayer dollars they probably should have stopped by NOCO since that has been a hot topic lately. We would love to hear from an animal advocate on how the city has progressed since they took the Animal Shelter off the CITIZENS BOND last year because they wanted to “ look into public/private partnerships” possibilities. Simple answer, they don’t give two shxts about what the very vocal animal advocates have been asking for, it simply does not fit their agenda of FRISCO. Goes to show the “citizens” at the top of the org chart are not as important as Cheney’s idea of downtown and the flowers he wants that create civic pride.
It sounds like an amazing VACATION taking in all the sights, just look at the trip agenda. Did we mention it cost TAXPAYERS OVER $65,000 and that is for one trip, and it could be more if they paid for others to go. If the goal was how to help “Shape Frisco” did we really need that many people to go look at streets, painted pianos, murals, flower projects, alleyway strung lights? Could 2 or 3 people go and bring back video and pictures to share at a work session?
Before our leaders can shape Frisco they need to figure out what Frisco is famous for. For example, Fort Collins is referred to as the Craft Beer Capital of Colorado as it has 21 breweries, and it is near one of the most beautiful reservoirs in Colorado. Colorado is naturally an outdoor enthusiast dream, from food exchange outposts, gardens and parks. That makes sense as it generally does not go over 90 in the summer. What is Frisco? What are we already known for that we can build our downtown around? Build, create and design Frisco around the history of our city instead of trying to create a history. Instead, we are creating “Cheney’s Frisco” and believe me, he could care less with what residents want as he has already proven that over and over again.
Every country has different traditions when it comes to celebrating New Years. I remember as a kid when I spent some time in Denmark with my family they would go door to door and smash plates on doorsteps of friends and family. The more shards there are in front of your home the luckier and more well liked were. One year we celebrated New Years in the Philippines and there everyone just wears Polka dots because they believe it increases their chances of good luck. Our tradition in the winery, you keep the windows and doors open on the front and back of your home. The idea was you welcome the new year in and in turn blow out the old year, so you have a clean slate so to speak.
What does 2024 bring for the Whistleblower Family? We will continue to work on the leads sent to us by our followers, file more PIR’s, and work to uncover the happenings behind the scenes at city hall. The one thing from 2023 that we are perplexed by is why the city chose to fight so hard to keep certain things a secret and what they were willing to release.
For example, Nepotism, yes that is right, Nepotism. Ask yourself, why would a city fight so hard to keep documents from the public related to the Nepotism Policy. The policy is published on the city website for anyone to see. Any changes to the policy must go before the council and are listed in the Agenda and Minutes. That is why we were surprised and perplexed they sent our PIR request to the Attorney General who issued a response on December 15 and the city notified us on December 29th.
We asked for communications between city officials pertaining to changes of the Nepotism policy. We wanted to understand why they were changing it, who they were changing it for, and how it would impact the city. However, the city asserted attorney-client privilege that was made for the purpose of facilitating the rendition of professional legal services to the city and the communications have remained confidential. They also submitted that the documents consist of advice, opinions and recommendations of city employees and officials regarding policymaking matters of the city. The attorney general agreed the city could withhold it.
We know from an March 8th email they had already made up their mind to hire Interim Fire Chief Lee Glover but to do so they had to change the policy in April 2023. So why then did they host a meet the candidate night in May 2023? The decision was final, they had no intention to hire any of those candidates. It was for POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE, so it appeared they were doing their due diligence.
Then we know they changed the policy again just a month or so later to hire the IT Director whose husband works in the Frisco Police Department. Our issue is that the same policy was used in the past and recently to disqualify candidates for jobs. So they want their peanut butter and jelly when it suits them, but they want to whistle and swing the policy around as an excuse when they did not want to hire someone. It is not fair practice, and it does not give everyone an equal playing field.
If the city had nothing to hide and everything they did when it comes to changing the Nepotism policy was above board, then why not release the email communications? We also can’t understand why they sent to the AG a PIR request for a street flood. What are you hiding about a street flood that affected tax paying citizens homes? We just can’t wrap our head around the fact the city would fight to keep a few emails private and claim policy making as the reason, but they will go to a city council meeting and vote to release a confidential document about a retired employee running for Mayor.
Traditions are important in this world, and like we said at the beginning we all have our New Year traditions that are the kick start of good luck for the future. The city’s tradition is to delay PIRs by sending them to the AG and covering their tracks by claiming attorney client privilege which they have done with almost every PIR in 2023 that they wanted to bury. We assume the tradition will continue in 2024. For all those saying we’re reaching or trying to make something out of nothing, the truth is we are realists and what is happening is so obvious to anyone if they just clean the lenses of their glasses. The other tradition we know the city will continue in 2024 is to waste our taxpayer dollars and operate the “Frisco Way!”
Our tradition is to continue to watch the city very closely and each person in this city. It is easier now that moles are coming out of the word work to help and join the team. The city continues to lose amazing talent to other cities which will dramatically change how Frisco operates and develops. As my dad would say one step, two step, you step, we step meaning “we are watching you.” If you have something you would like to share with us, just drop us an email at FriscoWhistleBlower@protonmail.com
Extra, Extra, Read All About It! Let the fireworks begin. If you have read our blogs some of this might seem familiar but stay with us because this explains it all. If you have never read one of our blogs then this is the one you DO NOT WANT TO MISS!
When we started down the path to uncover corruption within the city we never thought we would come across some of the things we have. The 12 Days of Malfeasance is a real page-turner and if you asked my wife she would say it is better than one of those cheap soft-back romance novels on the shelf at Walmart. It involves forgery, lies, questionable relationships, questionable tactics, and revenge. In the end, you will learn someone had $178,000+ reasons to lie and stab people in the back to protect their job! To top it off, we have the evidence to prove it!
It started back in 2014 when Fire Chief, Mark Piland updated several of the Job Descriptions for the Fire Department. When working in a city you are extended certain benefits based on the job descriptions (also called JD’s). In Frisco, Fire Fighters and Police Officers have additional benefit pay for certifications and education. If the job description says Preferred Education, Experience, and Certifications that means they receive additional pay in the following amounts: Certification pay for Intermediate, Advanced, and Master’s Certifications at $50, $80, and $120 per month. The Education Pay for Associate, Bachelor, and Master’s Degrees is at $50, $100, and $150 per month. However, if the job description says, “Required” then that means there is no additional benefit pay.
Fast forward to 2017, HR identified that there was no job parody in the job descriptions between the Fire Department and Police Department as it relates to Education Requirements. HR suggested to then Fire Chief, Mark Piland to change all the job descriptions to bring parody to the Fire Department job descriptions. The education requirements for all FD positions, Assistant Chief and below were changed to Preferred to match that of the Police Department as requested by HR.
Piland was concerned about this change as he was in the process of hiring and it could look as if some or all the candidates received special treatment which was acknowledged by Shannon Allywn in an HR email. Regardless of the concern the change was made to all of the positions to keep uniformity between departments.
July 19, 2017: An email from Shannon Allyn to Tracy Stiles (HR) talks about how when Chief Piland originally did the updates with HR to the job descriptions he had the Public Safety Certification and Education Pay descriptions listed as “required.” In 2017, HR approached Piland and asked him to change the job descriptions to “Preferred” to match the other departments. We were told by an insider at the time Piland protested and did not want to change it because it could cause issues. Shannon Allyn confirmed his frame of mind when she displayed the same concerns that Piland had in the email to Tracy. A reply from Tracy Stiles is sent the same day back to Shannon Allyn that reads, “They will all be changed to Preferred.”
Little did we know Job Descriptions would be the KEY to this story. Jeromy Porter served as Battalion Chief from June 2014 to September 2020 and during that time he received the additional Certification and Education Pay. Then in October 2020, he received a promotion to Deputy Chief and was told Education Pay was removed as an incentive. However, the position description listed a bachelor’s degree as a “Preferred” education, not “Required.” While a promotion is nice, the cut in what he thought the position paid was not. Ask yourself, would you take a promotion if it meant you were going to make less than your current salary?
January 25, 2021:Memo from Deputy Chief, Jeromy Porter to Fire Chief, Mark Piland regarding Education Pay and a request for a formal review of the Public Safety Certification and Education Pay Plan. The review got put on hold because things got hectic with an impending storm.
February 17, 2021: Circa Frisco Apartment Fire Reported, Wednesday @ 1:12 AM broke out in Apartment 158.
The Circa Fire was the largest fire 5-alarm that the Frisco FD has had to fight in recent memory and under the worst winter storm conditions in the last century. The Circa Fire happened over 48 hours in a winter storm nicknamed “Snowmageddon.” It knocked out power and caused a massive number of water breaks and fire alarm activations which led to an extraordinarily high call volume that taxed the resources and stamina of the Frisco FD.
Approximately two hours into the fire, a Mayday event occurred on the second floor of the Circa Building when Captain Christopher Beck, who was the Division Two Supervisor at the time of the Mayday event, fell through a hallway floor outside apartment 258. Captain Beck was trapped in the subfloor and had to be rescued by other firefighters. The Frisco FD Procedure Manual defines a Mayday in Procedure 303 Mayday Operations as “a message used to signal a life threat to any firefighter.” Beck went to the hospital and after being released he was back on duty.
The Circa Fire was much larger than it would have been under any other circumstance because the required automatic sprinkler system was taken out of service by the building landlord before the fire without the Frisco FD being notifiedor the building being put on Fire Watch. Fire department witnesses interviewed almost universally indicated that had the sprinklers been in service, it is believed this would have been a simple room and contents fire. Due to the high level of fire department emergency activity in the Metroplex, the mutual aid response was limited. Essentially, the Circa Fire was a five-alarm fire that was fought, for more than 24 hours, with the resources of a two-/three-alarm fire that were inadequate for the complexity/scale of this incident. The lack of resources led to an inability to designate a formal Rapid Intervention Team (“RIT”) by the incident commander.
RIT is defined in the Frisco Fire Department Procedure 303 Mayday Operations as “a dedicated crew of at least three firefighters with four firefighters preferred, one of which is an officer, fully equipped and trained who are assigned to provide assistance or rapidly deploy to rescue lost or trapped members.”
February 18, 2021: Circa Frisco Apartment Fire “Put Out”, Thursday @ 10 AM
February 2021 (End Of Month): Following the Circa Fire,Fire Chief, MarkPiland called for a Mayday Report to be put together to help the FD learn and better understand the event. Assistant Chief Kraemer assigned the job of preparing that report to the Battalion Chief in charge of Health and Safety, BC Hutt. This was the first Mayday Report done during Chief Piland’s tenure and the first such report any of the witnesses interviewed could recall ever being done in Frisco.
Important Note: While it is arguably a best practice, there is currently no specific requirement, standard, or template in any fire service to prepare a Mayday Report given the relative infrequency, and significance, of Mayday events.
March 16, 2021: Scott Vetterick, Deputy Chief sent an email to Lori Rutland (HR), Lee Glover (Assistant Fire Chief), and Mark Piland (Fire Chief) with a revised Fire Marshal job description. Lori responded to Vetterick and asked him to review the highlighted areas in yellow. She told him once he sent the changes or comments back to her she would send them to the Chief for approval (signatures).
March 17, 2021: Vetterick sent back the revised redlined edits and asked for approval for the changes. Once approved, he sent it back to HR. Evidence Note: In one of our PIR requests, we learned that the updated Fire Marshal job description had the required updated signatures from Mark Piland and was dated 3/17/2021. Why is this important? It shows that HR knew that if they changed anything, they would need to get updated signatures.
March 17, 2021: At 10:43 am and 11 am, THE JOB DESCRIPTION FOR DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF WAS MODIFIED by Lori Rutland who directly reports to Lauren Safranek.
March 18, 2021: At 11:22 am the FRISCO FD JOB DESCRIPTION FOR DEPUTY CHIEF WAS MODIFIED again by Lori Rutland for Education, Experience, and Certifications. The modification included removing the word “Preferred” from the title, but the bullet points still cite that a combination of education and experience can be used to satisfy the position.
Why is this a big deal?The document was changedwithout approvalfrom FIRE CHIEF, MARK PILAND, and HR DID NOT GET AN UPDATED SIGNATURE which is REQUIRED. After HR modified the document in 2021, they published the document with the unapproved change and more importantly with the 2017 signatures from Fire Chief, Mark Piland. Piland and others in the FD did not even know the change had been made until July 2022 when Porter submitted a second request for Education Pay.
Now many may say, who cares that HR changed it and didn’t tell anybody, but it is a VERY BIG DEAL. It affects the educational pay for several employees in those positions which creates a drastic pay cut in one’s salary.
April 9, 2021: BC Ryan Hutt delivered the original draft of the Mayday Report related to the Circa fire via email correspondence to Chief Piland, Assistant Chief Kraemer, and Assistant Chief Lee Glover. BC Hutt noted in his email “If you see any changes that need to be made or any recommendations you may have to improve the document, please let me know.”
According to the final report on 8/5/22, the original draft of the Mayday Report was incomplete, and it failed to give a full description of the Mayday event. Had such a complete description of the Mayday event been provided either in the first draft or even in any subsequent draft, the approach to the Mayday Report and the editing process moving forward for the Mayday Report would likely have been done differently.
The report also said that based on interviews performed during the investigation, BC Hutt did not obtain critical information about the Mayday event and the events leading up to the Mayday event because he did not speak with certain witnesses and because he performed incomplete interviews of other witnesses.
April 19, 2021: Valve Report Requested by Purefoy & Hill related to the damage of the valves on fire trucks due to “Snowmageddon.”
May 17, 2021: Assistant Fire Chief Lee Glover sends an email to Mack Borchardt his former boss and says “Enjoy The Read” regarding the initial Fire Apparatus Valve Damage. The email shows Lee Glover had no respect for Mark Piland and that Glover was still reporting to his old boss Borchardt.
May 27, 2021: BC Hutt submitted a third draft of the Mayday Report via email to Chief Piland, Assistant Chief Kraemer, and Deputy Chief Carpenter.
June 25, 2021: BC Hutt submitted his 4th draft of the Mayday Report via email to BC Britton DC Owen, Assistant Chief Kraemer, and DC Carpenter.
August 2021: BC Hutt left the Health and Safety Position and was replaced by Battalion Chief Charles Marts (BC Marts)
In the final report from Adams, Lynch & Loftin P.C. on 8/5/22 it was documented BC Hutt was moved to a new shift assignment because he was not successful under DC Carpenter and it was believed he would have a better chance of being successful under DC Porter. Ironically, one of the few areas where all of the Executive Staff interviewed were in agreement was on the fact that BC Hutt was moved to a new shift for his benefit and that move was designed to help him be more successful. There is a lack of trust in BC Hutt by his contemporaries as evidenced by the interviews with the Executive Staff and Command Staff during this investigation. This lack of trust has almost certainly been evident to BC Hutt. However, the fact that his contemporaries don’t trust him is not evidence of retaliation and reprisal.
October 5, 2021: Official Mayday Report released via email along with a copy of the Winter Storm 2021 AAR
It’s a new year and a lot is happening in the City of Frisco!
January 2022: The City of Frisco approved hiring Affion Public to conduct a national search for a new city manager. Ron Patterson and Fire Chief, Mark Piland applied for the position.
February 9, 2022: Matt Sapp, President of the Frisco Firefighters Association delivered a letter to George Purefoy, Frisco City Manager detailing concerns of how the department handled the reporting of the MAYDAY EVENT at the Circa Fire (Feb 2021). Sapp has repeatedly said publicly that the Association felt the Mayday Report should have been handled by a third party. The Sapp Letter contained several allegations regarding actions by Mark Piland, Frisco Fire Chief, and his “direct subordinates.” The allegations related to improper interference with the preparation of a Mayday Report that was analyzing their tactics and decisions at the Circa fire. Sapp asserted, “Fire Department Director and Executive Staff made a concentrated and concerted effort to place their professional careers over the current and future safety of the firefighters. This was done by suppressing objections, changing information, and attempting to withhold information for review vital to improve training.”
According to the final report released by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. on 8/5/22, there is insufficient/no evidence to support the allegation that Chief Piland or Assistant Chief Kraemer hid or altered critical information of the Mayday Report by moving the factors to another section. The information remained in the report even if it was in a separate section. Some of the information removed from the report (e.g. weather) was included in the AAR and other information removed (e.g. flow path) was subject to actual factual disputes and analysis that suggest subject matter experts could legitimately disagree about it as a factor.
March 30, 2022:Email from Matt Sapp, President of FFFA to Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill regarding their upcoming scheduled meeting for the following week. He detailed some concerns he had about how he was being treated and feeling threatened after filing the grievance back on 2/9/22.
According to the final report released by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. on 8/5/22, there is insufficient/no evidence to support a finding that Sapp or BC Hutt have been retaliated against because of the complaints filed related to the Mayday Report.
April 4, 2022: Henry Hill forwards Matt Sapp’s email directly to Lauren Safranek (HR Director) with no commentary. Why is this important? There was a secret plan in place to build a case to get rid of Fire Chief, Mark Piland by Lauren Safranek and her HR department who were on borrowed time before the “changing of the documents and falsifying records would come to light.”
April 4, 2022: Lauren Safranek, Director of Human Resources sends an email to Asst Chief Kraemer and cc/d Chief Piland and Asst City Manager, Henry Hill letting them know of the impending investigation by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. and that they would be under a “Confidentiality Warning.” They were to refrain from discussing the complaint and subsequent communications outside of the investigation process.
April 22, 2022: City of Frisco, Lauren Safranek, and City Attorney Richard Abernathy opened what is now being called the investigation into the Mayday Report. It would be conducted by an outside firm named Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. out of Grapevine, Texas and they reported to Lauren Safranek.
We looked at the law firm’s website and we were curious, what experience do they have that would have qualified them to lead the investigation? According to the site, they list multiple areas of practice, but nothing related to firefighting. In fact, under municipal experience, it says they help with contracts, procurement, construction law, and ordinance drafting but nothing related to a fire department. So why this firm? Did I mention they do Real Estate Law.
May 23, 2022: City of Frisco announced the new City Manager, Wes Pierson who topped a candidate pool that included 55 applicants from 17 states, before being narrowed down to four finalists. His first day on the job will be Aug. 2, 2022
May 23, 2022: Matt Sapp Interview with Adams, Lynch and Loftin, P.C. for Mayday Investigation where he reasserted his allegations stated in the complaint and letter sent to Henry Hill.
Sapp went on to say During his interview, Battalion Chief Ryan Hutt (“BC Hutt”), the author of the Mayday Report, stated that he felt he was being retaliated against for his involvement with the Mayday Report and for not making certain changes to the Mayday Report. Specifically, BC Hutt asserted that (1) he was removed from a health and wellness committee that was setting up a city clinic, (2) he was moved to a different shift, and (3) he was reprimanded for insubordination. BC Hutt and Chief Piland indicate that they met in March of 2022 about BC Hutt’s retaliation concerns.
According to the final report released on 8/5/22 by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, there is insufficient/no evidence to support a finding that Sapp or BC Hutt have been retaliated against because of the complaints filed related to the Mayday Report.
May 31, 2022: Fire Chief, Mark Piland was interviewed for the first time by Adams, Lynch, and Loftin. At the beginning of the interview, Piland was asked to sign an Administrative Warning Letter.
June 3, 2022: Chief Piland contacted Mayor Jeff Cheney and asked for a meeting, and they subsequently met the same day at a local Coffee Shop. The report says Piland raised concerns he had with the investigation. Piland stated there was a lack of trust between the FFD and the City Manager, George Purefoy, and Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill. Piland stated Safranek misrepresented the investigation and she had not been honest about the investigation’s intent throughout the process. Chief Piland informed the Mayor that both he and Assistant Chief Kraemer were considering filing a complaint against the City Manager for how he handled the complaints.
June 10, 2022: Fire Chief Piland was interviewed for the second time for the investigation. He was told the previous warning letter was still in effect.
The investigation revealed that Chief Piland was unaware of the true severity of the near-miss that caused the Mayday until he was interviewed in June 2022. At that interview, Chief Piland indicated that had he known how serious the Mayday event was he “probably” would have had the Mayday Report prepared by someone independent of Frisco FD.
June 26, 2022: APPLETON TRIP: Assistant Chief Lee Glover, Battalion Chief Jeff Morrison, Captain Alan Wyatt, and Driver/Operator Philip Bur traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin for an apparatus inspection. Glover gets drunk and starts to talk about how when Piland leaves he will be the new Fire Chief. HOW DID GLOVER KNOW PILAND WAS LEAVING OR WOULD BE LEAVING?
July 8, 2022: Mark Piland sent a memo to Assistant Chief Lee Glover with a copy of the letter of complaint regarding possible actions and possible statements that may have been made by Glover during an apparatus inspection trip to Appleton, Wisconsin during the week of June 26, 2022
July 10, 2022: Fire Chief Mark Piland sent an email to Henry Hill that he had received an informal complaint from one of the Deputy Chiefs on some statements Glover may have made in front of a couple of members while in Appleton, WI. He let Hill know he was currently treating it as an informal complaint and is conducting some fact-finding from those present during the statements. He will send Hill an update.
July 12, 2022: Lauren Safranek, HR Director sends an email to the City Attorney Richard Abernathy and Mari McGowan. She says attached is notice of complaint that Lee Glover received. This is related to the item HENRY AND I DISCUSSED WITH RICHARD LAST FRIDAY. We would like to discuss it further tomorrow (Tuesday) morning if possible if one of you are available. Let me know if there is a time that works for you.
Mari McGowan from the law firm responds how about 9 A.M. Lauren Safranek responds that works for her but she is not sure about Henry. She says let’s go ahead and schedule for 9 and we will call you. Henry Hill then responds he can do 9 A.M. Mari McGowan responds to call Richard’s office.
QUESTION: What do you think Lauren Safranek, Henry Hill and the City Attorney’s office talked about a week prior? First we thought maybe it was the Glover Complaint, but that had not come up yet. Plus, it made no sense they would meet to discuss an Informal Complaint that has not even gone through the FD process. They were obviously talking about Mark Piland, and we are guessing it is about his meeting with Mayor Jeff Cheney on June 3, 2022, to discuss the initial law firm’s investigation.
July 13, 2022: Henry Hill sent an email to Mark Piland and CC’d Lauren Safranek (HR) to let Mark know that Lee had reached out and asked to talk to him and Lauren about the documents left on his desk Monday morning regarding the complaint. He asks Mark if he will be addressing this when he is back in town and if there is anything else he should know.
Later that day Piland replies he has one more person to talk to and is still considering this informal but as a point of clarification these statements if said as stated in the complaint are serious. Making possible statements about replacing the Fire Chief and asking for members to pick sides is detrimental and distributing to the good of the order of the department. While “currently” considering the process as informal I don’t want to downplay the seriousness and cause of what is being looked at. Again, just fact-gathering at this point.
July 28, 2022:2nd REQUESTMemo from Deputy Chief Porter to Fire Chief, Mark Piland regarding Education Pay. Jeromy recently opened the position description again to review the Essential Job Functions and he noticed a modification where the word “Preferred” had now been removed. When he turned his second request, Mark Piland was alerted to change that was WITHOUT HIS APPROVAL. This is the first time Piland learns HR had modified, falsified or forged the job description.
The screen shot shows thatAugust 1, 2017: Job Description was modified by Shannon Allyn at 2:44 PM, and Fire Chief Mark Piland signed this version of the job description on 7/31/2017. Then on March 17, 2021, at 10:43 am and 11 am, the job description was modified again by Lori Rutland. Then on March 18, 2021, Lori Rutland modified the job description again at 11:22 am.
THE GIG IS UP! HR (Lauren Safranek and Lori Rutland) HAVE BEEN EXPOSED! WOULD HER JOB BE ON THE LINE? COULD SHE LOOSE HER $178,291 INCOME?
August 5, 2022: Confidential Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C released a 480-page “Confidential” Investigation Report. The first 33 pages detail the investigation and offers a few key points:
A Dallas Morning News Article said Mark Piland committed malfeasance because he changed the report. However, the actual report says: There is also some evidence that the changes to the Mayday Report were suggested by individuals who had either a perceived or an actual conflict of interest when they suggested edits to the Mayday Report. It also said, there is insufficient/no evidence to support the allegation that Chief Piland or Assistant Chief Kraemer hid or altered critical information of the Mayday Report by moving the factors to another section. The information remained in the report even if it was in a separate section.
When it came to the alleged violations of the Frisco FD SOP 101.01 Standard of Conduct the report said, there is insufficient/no evidence to support that there is an issue with them conducting their official duties in a manner that serves the public interest. It goes on to state there is insufficient/no evidence that they violated the city’s five core values or the Frisco FD core values. It says there is insufficient/no evidence that Mark Piland made a false statement in any official communications or conversation with another employee, volunteer, or citizen. It says there is insufficient/no evidence that Mark Piland or Kraemer violated Frisco’s Employee Code of Conduct, or that he was dishonest. When it comes to Freedom of Reprisal there is insufficient/no evidence to support the merit of this complaint as the evidence reviewed and witnesses interviewed demonstrated that no reprisal has occurred against Sapp and any actions complained of by BC Hutt were appropriate actions not taken as reprisal for his drafting of the Mayday Report or any complaints about protected activity. There is insufficient/no evidence to support the merits of this complaint. The investigation found no actions by Chief Piland or Assistant Chief Kraemer that rose to the level of a criminal offense.
Lastly, it notes that BC Hutt shares some of the fault for why this process failed. BC Hutt viewed the Mayday Report editorial process through lenses of conflict and distrust. According to multiple witnesses, BC Hutt’s viewpoint as it relates to his interactions with command staff is not unique to the Mayday Report. Longstanding personality conflicts and lack of trust between BC Hutt and DC Carpenter, and particularly between BC Hutt and Assistant Chief Kraemer played a role in defining BC Hutt’s perception of how the review of the Mayday Report was conducted and the level of editorial input BC Hutt expected to his drafts. The trust issues between BC Hutt and members of the Executive Staff and Command Staff undermined any chance of a truly collaborative effort in connection with the Mayday Report. Even though the investigation revealed that there was no interference in the investigation by the FFFA or the PIA Requests of the FFFA and that there was no retaliation or reprisal against Sapp or BC Hutt, the lack of trust within the Frisco FD explains why Sapp and Hutt viewed certain acts as either designed to interfere with an investigation or as acts of retaliation and reprisal.
August 6, 2022: Fire Chief Piland sends an email to Lauren Safranek with Jeromy Porter’s 2nd Request for Educational Pay. Piland notes in the email he was unaware of the change in 2021. Lauren Safranek has to act fast save her ass!
August 9, 2022: Lori Rutland (HR Compensation Analyst) sends an email to Lauren Safranek asking if she received clarification from Henry regarding the Fire Departments Job Descriptions for Deputy Fire Chief and Assistant Chief? Lori notes, last time they appear to be updated was in 2017. Then she says the JD’s on the website match the JD’s we have saved.
Why is this email a red flag? Lori’s knows they accessed the system in 2021 and changed the JD’s and now she is acting like that never happened. She even notes the 2017 SIGNATURE even though she is fully away they never obtained updated signatures in 2021 when she changed it. She is trying to pass off the JD as the original when she knows they were changed which is further proof of the HR team cover up.
August 9, 2022: Memo from Fire Chief Mark Piland to Assistant Chief Lee Glover regarding the informal complaint (Appleton, WI) was not sustained and is now closed.
August 30, 2022: Mayor Cheney was interviewed by Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C., for a subsequent investigation into his meeting with Mark Piland that occurred June 3, 2022
September 1, 2022: Adams, Lynch and Loftin released a 2ndadditional investigation report into the “Break of confidentiality concerning the underlying investigation.”
The summary notes the law firm was asked to investigate Fire Chief, Mark Piland. The report claimed Piland violated his confidentiality agreement however Piland has insisted that he did not. Piland knew he was still under a “Confidentiality Warning” from 4/4/22 and 5/31/22 that he could not speak about the investigation to anyone. In the report from Adams, Lynch & Loftin P.C., it states Piland then raised concerns he had with investigation because there was a severe lack of trust between FFD and the City Manager, George Purefoy, Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill and Lauren Safranek. He also said he believes Safranek misrepresented the investigation and that she was not being honest about the process or purpose. He also told the Mayor he and Assistant Chief Kraemer were thinking about filing a complaint against the City Manager for how they handled the complaints. Mayor Cheney said in his interview Piland asked him to keep their conversation confidential. In the findings of the report it states, Chief Piland raised issues with the motivation for the Investigation, the subject of the investigation and whether the investigation should be occurring.
While the result of the investigation is that Piland supposedly violated his confidentiality agreement we see it a little differently. Mark Piland figured out that Safranek was using this investigation to COVER HER OWN ASS FOR FORGING DOCUMENTS BACK IN 2021. We are pretty sure he figured out she was using the investigation to cover her own MALFEASANCE.
If you are an employee with a company and subject to an investigation, what do you do or where do you go, if you have concerns about the HR Director leading the investigation being compromised? What do you do or where do you go, if you believe the HR Director is lying about the reason for the investigation and she has intentions to use it for malicious purposes? In most cases, you would go to your boss. What do you do or where do you go if you believe your boss (Assistant City Manager – Henry Hill) and his boss (City Manager – Wes Pierson) are also compromised and are aware of the intentions of the investigation being used to railroad people? That is what happened here, and the city had no guidelines on where an employee should go if the employee believed his higher-ups were involved in something nefarious. Piland decided to express his concerns regarding the motivation of the investigation with the person at the top of the organizational chart. That is the Mayor! Little did he realize that it would be used against him.
September 14, 2022: Mark Piland is told that due to the investigation he has two choices, he can be fired, or he can retire. Piland chooses to turn in his Retirement Letter
September 14, 2022: Wes Pierson replies to the Mark Piland Retirement Letter
Total Cost of Investigation (that we know of) $83,196.79. Lauren spent a lot of TAX PAYER DOLLARS to cover her MALFEASANCE!
December 9, 2022: Email from Lauren Safranek HR to Fire Chief Lee Glover where she tells him she met with Porter on Sept 20, 2022, and explained the JD and changes. She stated he was okay with it, which according to our sources he was not and that shows in his exit interview notes which proves again Sassy Safranek is lying. She also said Piland wanted it change which we know is not true because in an email to Lauren he states he was not aware and did not sign off on any changes in 2021 when he forwards Jeromy’s second request. Our insider at the city said according to a calendar search Piland had a meeting within a week of Jeromy Porters second request with Henry Hill. That is where he alerted him that he never authorized, or agreed to change the JD’s and he never signed it.
February 17, 2023: Former Fire Chief, Mark Piland files to run for Mayor against incumbent Jeff Cheney.
March 8, 2023: Lauren Safranek, Director of HR sends an email to Wes Pierson, City Manager with a link to the Nepotism Policy. Remember Lee Glover on the trip announced he was going to be the New Fire Chief several months before Piland was forced to leave the city. Now Lauren has to have the policy changed to accommodate their plan that we believe Glover was a party too.
At 4:21 PM Wes Pierson replies to Lauren Safranek and asks for clarification. Lee would be ineligible to apply for the open Fire Chief position because his relative is now employed by the City. Am I correct?
At 9:21 PM Lauren Safranek writes back to Wes Pierson while Lee can apply for the Fire Chief position, the policy indicates he cannot be promoted because it would create a violation of the policy since the policy states that No Identified Employees of a Department Director may be employed by the City of Frisco. She suggested they change the policy which they did at the April 4, 2023, council meeting. You can read all about it in Day 10: Dog & Pony Show
April 4, 2023 (the same night): Frisco City Council after coming out of an executive session, the council voted on one item from its executive agenda. “In connection with item No. 2A, ii on tonight’s agenda, I move to authorize the city manager to release the second investigative report, dated Sept. 1, 2022, concerning Mark Piland,” Councilmember Bill Woodard said. In a 5-0 vote to pass the motion, Mayor Cheney conveniently recused himself. It is important to note that Bill Woodard, Angelia Pelham, John Keating, and Tammy Meinershagen had already endorsed and been helping with Mayor Cheney’s re-election campaign. It was clear the release of this document was designed to be a political hit job.
May 1, 2023: Assistant Fire Chief, Cameron Kraemer was wrongfully terminated ending a 27-year career over his diagnosis of PTSD. However, we believe Kraemer was a target of Lauren Safranek because he was Piland #2 and he knew of all of her MALFEASANE and what she done to Piland. For her he was loose end that needed to be taken care of.
May 29, 2023: HR HOTLINE gets complaint against HR Director, Lauren Safranek, HR Lori Rutland, Assistant City Manager Henry Hill about forging documents, falsifying records. It was CASE 64
May 30 , 2023:Email from Lauren Safranek to Henry Hill regarding Ethics Case 64
End Result? Nothing of course
June 1, 2023: Frisco Fire Chief Meet The Candidates was held at the library. Candidates Rob Bergersen, Richard Davis, Lee Glover, Kenneth Johnson, and Marc Pate
June 19, 2023: The City of Frisco is naming the interim Chief, Lee Glover to the position permanently. Again, why did the city waste TAX PAYER DOLLARS on a search when they knew they were giving the job Glover.
September 21, 2023: Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer wins his workers compensation case
September 27, 2023: Jeromy Porter’s Exit Interview with Wes Pierson where he states job description changes and Glover’s abusive and drunk behaviors.
October 9, 2023: Wes Pierson sends an email to Lauren Safranek after his exit interview with Jeromy Porter. He asks her to write up a memo that outlines her understanding of facts and context related to the matter of the job descriptions. He would like that back by 10/31 for the file. Lauren Safranek writes back with her side of the story which is all lies to cover herself.
Lauren Safranek has worked in the city for 22+ years and she $178,291 reasons to protect herself. Had she lost her job, do you think someone else would have hired her if they found she committed MALFEASANCE? Households are struggling today and that is a big income to lose so you can imagine how far one would go to protect it. Instead, she continues to get other people fired to cover up what is happening in Human Resources.
The sad part is, she is not the only one, we believe George Purefoy, Henry Hill and others are fully aware of what is going on. Remember they all came up under Purefoy who believes LOYALTY IS NUMBER ONE, IT’S THE FRISCO WAY! That is why Mack Borchardt still has a golden parachute job at city hall for six figures. It is why Lee Glover is now in the position of Fire Chief (the boys are back in town)!
This corruption has destroyed peoples reputations and two highly respected Fire Fighters are out of a job and we are sure there is more. If you ask the FWB group what should happen next, well we would say Fire Safranek, Hill, Glover and anyone else associated with this corruption. Oh wait, ASK THEM TO RETIRE. I think the city could be facing many lawsuits in the future and they will pay for their defense with our TAX DOLLARS. Everything is documented by emails and evidence so what do you have to say now? Humble Pie Anyone?
Back in September we wrote our blog All in The Family which was about Nepotism which is the practice among those with power or influence to favor, show bias, or give preferential treatment to relatives, friends, and close associates. Most companies have rules or policies about Nepotism in the workplace, including the City of Frisco.
The Employee Code of Conduct policy regarding Nepotism in the city has been the same since 2006. That is why we were intrigued in 2023 when we noticed the city made changes to the policy two times in a matter of months. Why did they change it? The reason for the change can be found in a memo from Lauren Safranek, Director of Human Resources. After reading the reason for the change it led us start investigating recent new hires and the possible relationships they had to someone in the city which you can read about in our September blog.
Several commented that we were making something out of nothing when in fact it was exactly what we suspected. The city was changing the Nepotism Policy in order to hire Interim Fire Chief, Lee Glover. On September 14, 2023, we filed PIR that stated we wanted all communications via email between city officials (for example HR, city manager’s office, and city council) regarding the change to the Nepotism Policy from 1/1/2022 to Present. Also, any emails regarding Lee Glover and Nepotism. We received a note back from the city saying they have released a few documents but that some of them were confidential and therefore they sent it to the Attorney General for an opinion.
What could be that confidential about a Nepotism Policy that a city would need to send to the AG? If you are willing to go on record and change the policy then why not be open and share why you want to change the policy? According to the letter the city sent to the AG they claimed a portion of the info contains confidential attorney-client information which was not intended to be disclosed to 3rd parties. Furthermore, a portion of the info involves interagency or intraagency communications which were intended to remain confidential.
This is where we have a huge problem with the city’s explanation and AG request. How can the city get a request or for an item, then go to a council meeting, have a discussion in executive session, come out and vote to release confidential HR documents on a retired employee who is under a gag order and is actively running as a political opponent against Mayor Cheney? Please note while Cheney recused himself from the vote 4 of the city council members who participated in the vote had already publicly endorsed Mayor Jeff Cheney. How is this is okay, but we can’t release documents about a Nepotism Policy? Why can’t the council vote to release the documents we requested? Are you telling me there is something SO CONFIDENTIAL in a discussion about policy change that it must be hidden from the public?
We went through the items the city “released” to us and the most exciting thing we found was the alert Dana Baird, Director of Communications received from our Twitter Post on September 13, 2023. However, the rest of it is just copies of the memos and policy changes. All we could do at that point was wait patiently for the AG to give their opinion to see if they would release the rest of the documents. We learned on 12/29/23 via an email from the city that the AG had ruled that the city may withhold the information they claimed to be confidential.
I am sure the city was very excited to learn they could withhold the rest of the Nepotism documents. That’s okay, because as you know we file many PIRs and early this year we filed one on Lee Glover which included an interesting email. We were sitting on a chain of emails waiting to see the AG’s response to the Nepotism PIR. The email subject line read “NEPOTISM” dated March 8,, 2023, that was from Lauren Safranek, HR Director sent to Wes Pierson, City Manager.
The initial email to Wes simply has a link to the Nepotism Policy. Wes Pierson replied to her a short time later asking her to clarify the following: 1) Interim Fire Chief Lee Glover has learned that he now has (as of when) a second cousin working in Frisco’s planning department. 2) Your understanding of our nepotism policy is that Lee would be ineligible to apply for the open Fire Chief position because of his relative who is now employed by the City (regardless of the fact that the relative works in another department and there is no reporting relationship). He ends with, am I correct?
Lauren replies that evening to Wes and said: Wes, As of October 2022, Lee Glover’s second cousin has worked for the City of Frisco as a Planner I in Development Services. Currently, as interim Chief, I would not consider this a violation of the nepotism policy. However, regarding your second question, the policy states: The hiring, transfer, and/or promotion, of Identified Employees shall not be allowed, even in different departments, if that action results in a violation of this Policy and/or creates a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest for the City as determined by the City Manager and/or his/her designee. When any relationship prohibited under this Policy and/or that constitutes a conflict of interest exists, the City reserves the right to take appropriate action to eliminate the violation, which may result in action being taken up to, and including termination.
Therefore, while Lee can apply for the Fire Chief position, the policy indicates he cannot be promoted because it would create a violation of the policy since the policy states that No Identified Employees of a Department Director may be employed by the City of Frisco after the effective date of this policy. We could enact Section V. Procedures which would allow 30 days for a resolution or the City terminates the employees with the least seniority. Identified employees are employees related within the prohibited level of consanguinity and/or affinity, a cohabitant or a roommate, as specified in the policy. I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you have any questions.
After the communication on March 8, 2023, Lauren Safranek requested a change to the Nepotism Policy at the April 4, 2023 city council meeting which you can read about in this memo here. In a nutshell Lauren requested the Nepotism policy be revised to remove the Third Degree of consanguinity (blood). Her reason, “In today’s job market, by going as far as the Third Degree of consanguinity, we may lose the opportunity to consider some possible dedicated employees.” What she means is “if we don’t change it we cannot hire LEE GLOVER.” Obviously, this is probably what the city intended to hide from us went they sent it to the Attorney General!
It was clear in March and April 2023; the city had every intention to change the policy to hire Lee Glover! So, why did they spend money to hire an agency to do a search for a new fire chief? Also why did they do the dog and pony show of “MEET THE CANDIDATES” for the Frisco Fire Chief position, on June 1st? Does the city really think it is fair to these candidates to let them believe they even had an opportunity. These dedicated first responders took time out of their schedule and away from their job to interview, travel, and meet the public. The reality they were never going to get the job, the decision had already been made.
For all of those saying we are grasping at straws we have proven again that the city is
1) Breaking The Law because they did not include this email in our original PIR which clearly asked for emails regarding Nepotism & Lee Glover.
2) We said the city changed the policy to hire Lee Glover and the response from many is “oh the city would never do that” … BUT THEY DID EXACTLY THAT AND THE EMAIL BETWEEN LAUREN AND WES PROVES IT!
3) The fact the request to change the Nepotism came just 2 ½ weeks after their email communication and basically solved their problem, it only doubles down the confirmation we were correct.
4) The city changed the policy to hire someone and they have used the same policy to disqualify others in the past. It is not fair to change the policy at whim or when it suits you. That is not why polices are in place.
In closing we find it very interesting what the city deems confidential and not confidential. They will vote to release confidential information on a political opponent but they won’t vote to release the documents regarding the decision to change the NEPOTSIM POLICY? This is our plea to Mayor Cheney and the council to vote to release the documents for all the PIRS we have. Stop hiding behind the AG because it is clear every time you have something to hide and that is why something smells like SHIT in Frisco!
To see the full documents of the snap shots included, click here!
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I literally just saw this. Yeah, she used to forward everybody’s emails behind their backs.
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Interesting Article
I don't know, Patrick, and I'm not familiar with SREC, so I'm unable to answer your questions.