By Anne Geggis
Less than 24 hours after an investigation concluded no evidence supported his accusation the city manager touched him inappropriately, Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Keith Tomey was terminated May 1 for “willful, insubordinate behavior” in numerous incidents.
City Manager Terrence Moore ended Tomey’s seven years of city employment “effective immediately,” replacing him with interim Fire Rescue Chief Kevin Green.
The letter firing Tomey principally cites the chief’s decision to allow on-duty firefighters to participate in the annual Guns ‘N Hoses charity softball game last November. It put Engine 112 out of service for more than four hours, Moore wrote.
“Your poor decision making could have endangered the lives of our residents and the public and created a risk of liability to the city,” Moore’s letter says.
That investigative report on the softball tournament came out as Tomey’s allegations of inappropriate touching by the city manager surfaced. A third-party investigator the city hired found there was no evidence that Moore touched Tomey inappropriately, however.
The softball game episode was one of a number of incidents that Moore said had forced him to question Tomey’s leadership and managerial skills.
Neither Tomey nor his attorney, Isidro Garcia, who sent the letter making the allegations of the city manager’s inappropriate touching, returned calls or emails seeking comment.
Garcia, however, told the Sun Sentinel that he intended to sue the city on Tomey’s behalf.
The allegations that Tomey made about the city manager were not cited in the firing letter. The investigative report did say no specific city policies were violated in Tomey’s involvement in the softball game. But investigator Christopher Bentley dinged Tomey for his “poor decision-making which ultimately resulted in inequities and liabilities for the city.”
The investigation into the charity softball tournament started when a firefighter in the game was injured and filed a workers compensation claim, Bentley’s report says.
Tomey had alleged, however, that the softball tournament would not have been investigated if Tomey hadn’t rebuffed Moore’s sexual advances in August 2022 as the two drove to and from an exhibition of city employee art, including Moore’s, at the Arts Garage. He said that Moore “rubbed up his thigh and just briefly made contact with his groin area,” according to a third-party investigator’s telling of Tomey’s allegations.
Moore wrote that Bentley, during his investigation into the softball tournament, noticed the same thing Moore had about Tomey’s attitude regarding city resources and official duties.
“[Bentley] remarked in his report your cavalier attitude regarding these serious concerns, something that I, too, have witnessed in my interactions with you when forced to address your issues in management, fiscal responsibility and accountability,” Moore wrote.
Tomey’s five-day suspension for failing to follow city policy after a Broward County accident in October 2022 involving his city vehicle was also included in Tomey’s contention he was being retaliated against. But city policy requires employees to take a drug test immediately following an accident whether they are at fault or not, which Tomey did not do until three days after the accident, Moore said in the termination letter. And Moore did not hear about the wreck until he received a request to approve a rental for Tomey.
“I recall that during that disciplinary procedure you refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing …” Moore wrote. “This appears to be a pattern of willful, insubordinate behavior coupled with poor decision making that despite repeated counseling and a five-day suspension, has worsened.”
Moore cited another incident that occurred before the arts show allegations. In July 2022, Tomey distributed a memorandum that went to fire rescue personnel that disclosed the medical condition of an employee. The employee sent a “demand letter” and the city had to pay $25,000 to settle the claim, Moore said.
Tomey’s termination was effective immediately, according to Moore’s letter, and his health benefits continued through May. Tomey’s departure does not involve a financial settlement, a city spokeswoman said.
Since he was terminated “not in good standing,” there are no payouts, the spokeswoman said. Tomey had been earning an annual salary of $179,587.
Green, Tomey’s replacement, has been with the city’s Fire Rescue since 2012.
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