A reporter left a message for Powell at a phone number listed for him in available records, but was unable to reach him for comment.
According to the complaint, obtained this week by the Dayton Daily News, Powell called the firefighter around 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, sounding “like he was raging.”
According to the complaint, Powell is alleged to have accused the firefighter of going to the Miami Twp. trustees “about payroll,” and said “You just made things worse for yourself.”
When asked by the firefighter what he meant, Powell allegedly responded “When the trustees are in the building, you need to keep your (expletive) mouth shut.”
This last phrase was repeated multiple times throughout the nine-minute phone call, according to the complaint.
Documents obtained by the Dayton Daily News indicate that there have been several complaints against Powell and other firefighters, mostly filed in 2024, though one dates back to 2022. Multiple allege that Powell interacted with them while drunk, and one indicates that Powell engaged in retaliation for complaints earlier that year.
“This is why no one comes forward with issues,” the complainant wrote.
Others allege that the department has “constant payroll issues,” and one alleges that Powell lost the department a grant renewal due to negligence.
Powell served as interim fire chief from August 2023 until he became fire chief in May 2024.
Trustees became aware of discrepancies in pay among firefighters in late 2023, Miami Twp. Trustee Don Hollister told the Dayton Daily News Friday.
Hollister said the discrepancies were due in part to the transition of the department from a volunteer force to a paid force, similar to fire departments across the country.
“What I’ve seen of the variations in pay, I don’t see those as necessarily conscious or intentional,“ Hollister said, adding that the “interpersonal habits and dynamics of (the department) are still changing.”
In the last few months, trustees have adopted standard pay scales and compensation rates for firefighters, policies and procedures, and retained a consultant, Hollister said.
Powell remains on administrative leave.
Trustee Marilan Moir declined to comment. Trustee Chair Chris Mucher did not return a request for comment Friday.
During their regular meeting on Feb. 3, township trustees had a brief spat in which Mucher expressed he was “disappointed” that the complaint was immediately taken to legal counsel instead of to trustees, minutes show, while trustee Moir said taking the complaint to the trustees had previously resulted in retaliation against employees.
“I was also sad and disappointed to find out that I was not apprised of this move,” Mucher said. “The matter was immediately handed over to our legal department, without any consultation, for a full investigation.”
Mucher added he will not be participating in votes on the matter “because I have no background information,” he said.
“There is no background information — there’s simply a complaint,” Moir said in response. “The proper procedure is that somebody can bring a complaint without it being taken directly to the person that they’re grieving against. … I therefore protected the employee by taking it directly to counsel.”
“Thank you very much,” Mucher said. “You are wrong on all counts.”
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