Hiram Mayor Anne Haynam told the village’s firefighters in an email that the department will close just before midnight March 2, and will remain closed until a new fire chief is hired.
The email followed Hiram Fire Chief Bill Byers’ retirement announcement in a letter that called the job “inefficient” and “demeaning.” It also alleged “a toxic work environment.”
The Hiram Firefighters Association recently issued a statement of no confidence in Haynam while expressing full confidence in Byers.
Byers’ retirement letter, dated Feb. 25, was posted to the Hiram Firefighters Association’s Facebook page. The group only days before posted complaints about Haynam and expressed support for Byers. The Association linked its support announcement to the chief’s letter accompanied by a photo of Byers being lifted up by a team of firefighters, with what appears to be a burning house in the background.
“Today we proudly recognize and thank Bill Byers for his incredible 21 years of service with the Hiram Fire Department, including the last 15 years as Fire Chief,” the post states. “Thank you, Chief Byers, for 21 years of commitment and 15 years of outstanding leadership. Your impact will never be forgotten.”
Developments in Hiram Fire Department come as Mantua has taken on dispatching duties for Hiram Police Department. Hiram Police Chief James Clemens has been acting as interim Mantua police chief since October, when that village’s chief was fired.
Haynam said Mantua is being paid $100 a day for dispatching until the village reaches a contract with another department.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office, which previously dispatched for Hiram, recently announced that it was dropping the police department as a client after Clemens his work with Mantua.
Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski issued a statement on Facebook that Mantua Village’s move doubled the number of residents Hiram police serves. The sheriff’s office still dispatches for Hiram’s fire department.
Leaders of both villages have said the contract between them is not a “merger” of the police departments but was instead a temporary arrangement until Mantua hires a new chief.
Why will the Hiram fire station be shut down?
Haynam sent the internal email to firefighters, who posted it on the Hiram Firefighters Association Facebook page. She did not send the email to The Record-Courier, nor did she respond to a previous email asking about the chief leaving the department.
“We are sharing this information to ensure our community is aware of what is happening,” the firefighters’ post states. “Everyone has the right to know.”
The mayor’s letter states that she was not sure who was scheduled to work in March, but said “this email has information that is pertinent to all of you.”
“The village will shut down fire/EMS services at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 1st and remain closed until an interim chief is named. We apologize for the employment disruption, but with Chief Byers and the Assistant Chief resigning with only 4 days notice, we cannot fill the position quickly and responsibly continuing offering services.”
The letter states that Haynam contacted the chiefs of Garrettsville Fire and Community EMS to provide mutual aid. She also encouraged firefighters to attend a council meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 5, “where we will continue to discuss Fire/EMS operations as we’ve done at the previous two Council meetings.”
The post from the firefighters association states that although Haynam classified the chief’s departure as a resignation, he retired and did not resign.
“We have firefighters who are ready and willing to work to protect this community,” Hiram Firefighters Association said in its post. “This is not how we move forward — this is how we risk losing more dedicated members by denying hardworking men and women the opportunity to serve and earn a living. By closing the department, response times will increase. When emergency services are farther away, every minute matters. For the sake of your loved ones, we sincerely hope you never have to experience an emergency and wait longer for help to arrive. Our community deserves timely, reliable protection.”
Another post from the firefighters association includes a section of the Ohio Revised Code, which states that the legislative branch of a municipal government establishes a fire department. The mayor is the executive branch, they stated.
“Speaking with some council members this evening, they were not made aware of her decision before hand,” the post stated. “The Hiram Township Trustees were also blindsided by the email we received.”
Village of Hiram response to closing fire department
Meanwhile, a post on the village’s Facebook page provided more information on the situation from the perspective of village leaders.
The Feb. 28 post states that the “entire leadership team has resigned” from the department, and the village is “required” to suspend fire and EMS coverage “as the EMS Medical Directorship has been withdrawn and we do not have a designated fire chief/director.” “Additionally, it has become evident that Hiram Township is collaborating with the staff to take over our department and move it outside of the Village,” the post states. “While the concept may be worth considering, the process raises concerns. Rather than resigning with four days notice (not the two weeks required in the employee handbook), the staff and/or the Township could have brought a proposal to Council and we work through the process while operations continued. Instead we have a major disruption.”
In late August, the post states, Haynam and Council President Chris Szell met with staff, and council approved up to three positions with full benefits, and an hourly rate that would increase for almost all staff. The positions, the post states, were never advertised internally or publicly.
At council meetings in January and February, Byers was asked to provide new compensation proposals and their impact on the budget, but he didn’t bring the information. A special “working session” was scheduled March 5 to allow the chief more time to bring the requested materials.
Meanwhile, the fiscal office closed the 2025 accounting books, and saw that Byers didn’t spend about $50,000 of funds appropriated for personnel, and underspent his overall budget by $200,000. “He had the means to not only increase wages but also make purchases for the department,” the post states. “Yet he did not.”
“These actions are perplexing and even more confusing is why the leadership team would resign before an opportunity to educate and advocate for their needs,” the post states. “This was an opportunity to work toward a solution. Now we will move forward in a thoughtful manner.”
The post states that those steps will include staff surveys and additional proposals, based on work with a consultant.
The March 5 meeting is open to the public, the post states.
Chief Bill Byers’ retirement
The chief’s letter didn’t mention the mayor by name, but stated his responsibilities have become more difficult over the past two years. Haynam was elected as a write-in candidate in 2023, defeating longtime Mayor Lou Bertrand.
The letter stated that the chief’s retirement would become effective March 2.
“This decision was not made lightly, I sincerely regret the short notice, however, over the past two years, the responsibilities of fire chief have been made inefficient, demeaning and have created both a hostile and toxic work environment,” the letter states. “This has made it impossible to efficiently continue as fire chief and uphold the standards I believe the department and community deserve.”
Haynam did not immediately respond to an email asking about the chief’s retirement.
Hiram firefighters sound off
The Hiram Firefighters Association posted a message about “ongoing concerns” regarding the department’s treatment by the mayor after two meetings with her and Village Council President Chris Szell.
Haynam did not directly address questions related to the Feb. 23 Facebook post by the Hiram Firefighters Association, referring a reporter to the March 5 special council meeting, where she said concerns would be discussed.
“Village leadership has been reviewing operations of the Fire/EMS Department including asking Chief Byers to present material in the past two Council meetings,” Haynam stated in an email.
A department firefighter called The Record-Courier and would not give his name, stating he feared retaliation. He said the concerns arose over maintenance of the village hall, which the fire department shares with several other departments. At night, village council chambers is used as a sleeping area.
But firefighters complain that they often are asked to clean up after those who have used the space earlier in the day, citing issues such as bags of trash left outside the door, instead of being carried to an outdoor container. And the Facebook post states firefighters have been threatened with disciplinary action if they don’t clean up after others.
“She watches our alerting system and says we’re not busy,” the firefighter said. “That’s a good thing. People aren’t being hurt. But we’re not doing nothing.”
The Facebook post said that after concerns were brought to Haynam and Szell, the firefighter’s complaints were dismissed.
“We were characterized as presenting ‘childish complaints’ and were told it was ‘her way or the highway.’ This approach to leadership has left our members feeling unheard and undervalued,” the post stated.
Haynam recently gave a State of the Village address that said the village has staffing challenges and that compensation packages need improvement.
The firefighter who called said that message stung, because members haven’t received a wage increase in more than two years. In addition, the firefighter said, there were two instances last year in which all village employees were paid late. More recently, a computerized payroll system was replaced with printed time cards, a system firefighters disliked.
“We felt the State of the Village was a shot at us,” the caller said.
An employee at a neighboring fire department also told firefighters that Haynam had contacted that department’s chief about “Hiram joining their EMS district.” The firefighter didn’t say which department had been contacted, but said it wasn’t Mantua-Shalersville Fire District.
“We would like clarification on what this means for our personnel and operations,” the Facebook post states. “Specifically, does this proposal affect our employment with Hiram, and is there any plan for the Hiram station to close?”
Haynam didn’t respond to questions about a potential merger with another district. However, other municipalities have floated the idea of collaboration in light of uncertain tax funding, with Ravenna’s mayor recently saying the city should renew talks of a fire district with Ravenna Township.
“Due to these ongoing concerns, the Association is issuing a vote of no confidence in Mayor Haynam. We do not believe her current leadership reflects the best interests of our members or the long-term stability of our department,” the post states.
“At the same time, we would like to formally express our full vote of confidence in Fire Chief Bill Byers. Since taking office in 2011, Chief Byers has overseen significant improvements within the department, including more than doubling wages, expanding staffing to 24/7 coverage with two personnel on station, and fostering a strong and positive workplace culture. The progress achieved under his leadership speaks for itself. We believe Chief Byers should continue to serve as our Chief for as long as he chooses.”
Village dispatch still in question
The village’s dispatching contract with the sheriff’s office was terminated in December, Haynam said.
The sheriff’s department posted on Facebook that the village, which has about 1,000 residents, was paying $19,280 for dispatch services.
“Following the merger of the Hiram Police Department with Mantua Village, the population served increased to approximately 2,000 residents,” the post stated. “Doubling the population directly results in a corresponding increase in the cost of services.”
The contract with Hiram states that either party may end the contract with a 30-day notice, so Hiram was given notice that the contract would be terminated.
Hiram Police Department was formally placed in charge of police operations in December in Mantua. Hiram Police Chief James Clemens has been serving as interim chief since Mantua Police Chief Joseph Urso was fired for violating the village’s nepotism policy. The decision was made after a 12-hour disciplinary hearing that began Oct. 21.
The agreement states Mantua will pay Hiram $170,000 to oversee police and dispatch services for the next six months. Council members said the ordinance is a “bridge” with a goal to restore the village’s police department and make it an independent police force. In response to concerns from residents about a merger of the two departments, Mantua Village Council members and Clemens said the department is being rebuilt, not abolished.
The sheriff’s Facebook post stated that Clemens didn’t immediately respond, and instead used most of the 30-day notice looking for alternative dispatch options. He asked for a 30-day extension “when that process proved more time-consuming than anticipated.”
The post stated that the extension was denied because of “ongoing and unresolved issues related to the Mantua/Hiram merger.”
“Mantua Village was not a contracted agency for dispatch services; however, it was effectively utilizing services paid for by the Village of Hiram, thereby accessing Portage County Sheriff’s Office dispatch resources without an established contract or corresponding payment,” the Facebook post stated.
Haynam said officials reached out to many areas for dispatching help.
“Our population for dispatch coverage remained identical as before the agreement with Mantua,” Haynam stated in an email. “However, the contract does not require the sheriff office to provide rationale for ending the contract and we proceeded to seek bids from Streetsboro, Mantua and Ravenna.”
She wouldn’t state the amount the village plans to pay for dispatch until a contract is finalized, but “we do not expect a significant increase.”
Until a new dispatch agreement is in place, Mantua is being paid $100 per day for dispatch. Haynam said that amount is “significantly more than our contract will end up, but we are grateful for the help during the transition period.”
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Hiram mayor closes fire department as chief retires amid ‘toxic work environment’
Reporting by Diane Smith, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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