New Birmingham fire chief selection okayed

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham City Commissioners approved the promotion of Matt Bartalino to serve as chief of the city’s fire department during the Monday, December 15, meeting.

Bartalino has been serving as the interim chief since July when former chief Paul Wells was placed on administrative leave.

Bartalino has been with the department for 22 years, serving as captain, lieutenant, then assistant fire chief for the last six years. In his remarks, Bartalino thanked the commissioners for their trust and support, and for believing in the work the department does to keep the community safe.

“I’m humbled by this responsibility, and I look forward to continuing to serve this department and this city with integrity, commitment and heart,” Bartalino said.

Back in July, Bartalino stepped up as interim fire chief after Paul Wells was placed on administrative leave, pending investigation, by city manager Jana Ecker. City officials declined to give a reason as to Wells’ leave at the time, but a FOIA request filed by Downtown revealed that a performance improvement plan had been imposed on the former chief.

Wells filed a lawsuit in November against the city, Ecker and assistant city manager Mark Clemence, claiming violation of his civil rights and of the Michigan Whistleblower Protection Act. He claimed that Ecker and Clemence retaliated against him for reporting serious safety defects with the Park Street and Pierce Street parking structures and persistently bringing the problems up.

The lawsuit, which is still pending in federal court, claims that Ecker demanded Wells not put anything related to safety issues in the city’s parking structures in writing to prevent the discussions from being subject to FOIA. Wells also claims that he raised concerns over the safety of the community and fire department to Ecker after learning watermains and fire hydrants had been shut off throughout the city.

Wells was recently considered for the fire chief position in the city of Rochester.