The city council for the Town the Kaplan has rescinded the termination of former Fire Chief Jacob Mathiew.
In April, Mathiew was suspended and then in May, he was terminated for alleged malfeasance in office. Mathiew, at the time, claimed his termination stemmed from a personal vendetta with the mayor.
Mayor of Kaplan Mike Kloesel says that following a Wednesday night meeting on the issue, Mathiew's termination has been rescinded.
"Through the negotiations of the city attorney and the ex-fire chief's attorney, an agreement was reached where the city council would rescind the termination, and the city would allow the ex-chief to resign immediately, with no other recourse," Kloesel said.
Mayor Kloesel states that the original demand from Mathiew was full reinstatement as a Kaplan firefighter at the chief's salary and payment of his attorney fees. Both of those requests were denied and the city counter-offered to rescind the termination.
The mayor says that the counter-offer was made for the betterment of the fire department so that the city can move on rather than "fight a drawn out battle."
"There is no doubt in my mind that this is a battle that the city would have won had we been forced to continue the termination route through civil service. We felt this to be in the best interest of the city and the ex-chief as well," Kloesel said.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
