Even though Gurnee’s Fire Chief Fred Friedl was a public employee who had served in this role for almost 20 years, he has the right to privacy in personnel matters. That is the stance of Mayor Kristina Kovarik, who has not publicly stated the reasons she did not reappoint Friedl this year.
“We have to respect the privacy,” Kovarik said, “just like any employer.”
Last week, Kovarik ended Friedl’s long tenure in his role as fire chief when she did not reappoint him to the position. Friedl had been appointed to the post every year since 1998. This is a job that requires annual appointment, according to Village Administrator Pat Muetz.
Friedl started with Gurnee’s Fire Department in 1996, before his promotion to fire chief in 1998. Prior to coming to Gurnee, he had worked for Wood Dale Fire Department 22 years, working his way up to the fire chief position there as well.
Although Kovarik declined to comment publicly on this, a statement was posted on both the village of Gurnee website and her mayoral Facebook page addressing “inquiries related to the annual appointment process.”
“This year the annual appointment process was followed exercising appropriate decision-making authority and in accordance with past practices,” the statement read. “Decisions involving a change in an appointed position is never made lightly and involves careful deliberations before recommendations are made by the Mayor with concurrence of the Village Board.”
The statement added that “the Village does not engage in a public debate regarding these matters via social media.”
Attempts to reach Friedl for comment were not successful.
Kovarik declined to say how soon she expects to appoint a new chief.
The new chief will supervise a department with 53 employees, two fire stations and a $10 million budget, according to Muetz.
“It’s a solid department,” Muetz said, “You’ve got a lot of great guys up there, and we don’t expect that to change.”
The Village Board voted Monday to appoint Deputy Chief John Kavanagh as acting chief.
Jack Linehan, assistant to the village administrator, said Kavanagh started with the Gurnee Fire Department in 1995.
In addition to hiring a new fire chief, Linehan said, the Gurnee Fire Department plans to convert some its barracks to accommodate female firefighters. Currently, all Gurnee’s firefighters are men.
Mary McIntyre is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
