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Washington Evening Journal
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Ambulance director suspended after closed sessions
WASHINGTON — The Washington County Board of Supervisors suspended Ambulance Director Jeremy Peck Thursday morning, following their third closed session in two weeks.
Only Supervisor Jack Seward Jr. spoke about the matters discussed in the closed-door meetings, which took a total of over seven hours.
“The Board of Supervisors has been made aware of personnel and management issues with the ambulance department leadership, and the Board of Supervisors have spent significant time and effort to take this seriously and investigate those issues,” he said. “Personnel matters are involved, and we are not at liberty to release any further details.”
The board voted unanimously on three actions in response to the confidential discussions, all from motions made by Seward. Those actions were:
- Placing Ambulance Director Jeremy Peck on 1-month administrative leave without pay, beginning Oct. 27.
- Requiring Peck to take further HR training, “as recommended by a human relations consultant.“
- Authorizing ambulance liaisons to the board to recommend a department-specific human relations consultant for the ambulance service.
Details of the “personnel and management issues” at the department were not specified.
While Peck was involved in one of the closed sessions on Oct. 11, county officials have not named the employee in question for the other closed session on the same day.
Signs of controversy first surfaced at an Aug. 30 regular meeting, where Supervisors Jack Seward Jr. and Bob Yoder mentioned complaints about the ambulance department, but declined to elaborate on them in follow-up interviews.
“We’ve received a lot of comment regarding some operations over at the ambulance service,” Seward said at that meeting. “It might be a good idea that we have either a work session or a closed session to more fully discuss what’s going on, what the concerns are … I think it probably would be a good idea to have a closed session … but I would like to see that in the relatively near future.”
While an HR investigation and several delayed closed sessions saw meeting agendas in the following weeks, an official link between those matters and the ambulance department did not surface until Thursday’s meeting.
Peck and County Attorney John Gish declined to comment on the matter.
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
Washington County Ambulance Service Director Jeremy Peck
The Washington County Board of Supervisors closed session sign. (Kalen McCain/The Union)
Washington County Supervisor Jack Seward Jr.
