Denver firefighter initiates no-confidence vote on chief, deputy chief
A Denver Fire Department assistant chief is asking his colleagues to move forward on a vote of no confidence in Department Chief Desmond Fulton and Deputy Chief Kathleen Vredenburgh after a CBS News Colorado investigation revealed the fire department's top commanders had been awarding themselves "comp time" for years, then illegally converting the comp time into cash that they pocketed at the end of each year.
It's a practice Denver Mayor Mike Johnston called "a troubling and systemic misuse of flex time."
Assistant Chief Patrick Hynes, a 36 year veteran of the department, authored the resolution that is scheduled to be introduced Wednesday night at meeting of Denver Firefighters Local 858, the department's union, which has more than 1,000 members. Hynes said it was "outrageous that any of it was ever tolerated" and said he began the no-confidence effort because concerns of Denver firefighters about the comp time scandal "have been discounted and devalued."
Hynes said "The resolution on the floor comes after months of patience and believing that some 'final order of discipline' would be released."
So far, none of the department's command staff have been disciplined for what the CBS News Colorado investigation uncovered.
"In this matter," said Hynes, "there has been no official closure of the whole mess."
In April, CBS News reported that Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton, who earns $230,000 per year and is one of the cities highest paid workers, had also billed for more than 400 hours of "comp time" in the last three years by attending memorial services for firefighters, attending retirement parties for his employees, attending mayoral forums and going to a candlelight vigil for victims of the Club Q mass shooting in 2022. It's a practice that is not allowed, according to Denver's municipal code. A review of Fulton's work records from 2021 to 2023 showed he repeatedly racked up comp time or flex time by attending events that others viewed as part of his job. He could then use that comp time to cover his vacations, and cash in unused vacations days at the end of each year- which he did.
Following the news investigation, the city commissioned an independent investigation by former U.S. Attorney Robert Troyer, which was released in October 2024 and verified the CBS findings, saying what was uncovered was "an organizational failing."
That report noted that Fulton cashed in unused vacation days between 2021 and 2023 for about $42,000. For the same time period, two division chiefs were paid $25,000 and $27,000 for unused vacation days while other command staff members received between $11,000 to $19,000 for unused vacation time during the same three years. The report said, "All current Command Staff members "banked" and later used (comp time hours) instead of using available vacation leave. They all received larger cash payouts for unused vacation leave than they otherwise would have. All of them engaged and benefitted financially from this practice," according to the Troyer report. However the report authors said none of the department commanders "fully exploited it to maximize payouts for unused vacation hours."
They did not intend to violate the law, said the report, but "this practice did violate the Denver Revised Municipal Code," which prohibits fire department executive staff from collecting additional compensation for working extra hours. Troyer's report noted that department commanders prohibited rank-and-file firefighters from doing the very thing the commanders were doing, which Troyer described as "a double standard... hypocritical."
At the time the report was released, Manager of Safety Armando Saldate said he would review the Troyer report to see if disciplinary action against Fulton and top department commanders was warranted. Nearly three months later, there are no indications of any disciplinary action against the department leaders, leading to the no-confidence movement.
Hynes said, "The Mayor and Executive Director have said they will ensure equitable application of discipline or justice but have largely remained silent since the release of the Troyer report."
In a written statement in October, Fire Chief Desmond Fulton wrote, "I take full responsibility for continuing a problematic timekeeping practice that violated city policy." Mayor Mike Johnston said after the report was released in October, he was asking Fulton to repay some of the vacation time Fulton had cashed out since 2023.
Hynes said, "If an apology for misconduct was all that was required to move on after an investigation the discipline system for members would look completely different."
Hynes and other firefighters have suggested that if they had done what Fulton and top commanders did, they likely would have been fired within a short period of time.
Voting on the no-confidence resolution will be conducted Wednesday night and Thursday morning. If the membership approves of the resolution, a broader no confidence vote by members would occur within about 30 days.
In a statement Wednesday, Saldate said, "The Department of Public Safety is committed to a thorough and fair discipline process for all DFD command staff involved in this matter. Like any process, we will share final decisions when the process is complete. However, I have full faith in Chief Fulton and his command staff's leadership of the Denver Fire Department."
Fulton and Vredenburgh did not respond to an email from CBS News Colorado seeking comment on the no confidence move.