The Morongo Valley Community Services District Board met Wednesday (November 24) evening with short notice and in special session. Reporter Hilary Sloane has the meeting coverage.
Hoping for a civil meeting this time around, the Morongo Valley CSD jumped immediately into closed session to discuss employee discipline. Following a two-hour closed session, the board said the session was productive and they found no need for an investigation into employee discipline since the Fire Chief, Gary Yearsley, is set to retire on December 31. The board clarified that the retirement of Yearsley has nothing to do with the potential investigation and that retiring is not an admission of any wrongdoing. Chief Yearsley will stay on to help with staffing issues and finding a new chief. The CSD board also announced that they will meet again next Tuesday (November 30) at 6 p.m. to further discuss the staffing concerns and the possibility of hiring bonuses to encourage more firefighters to work in Morongo Valley. The meeting ended with praises for Chief Yearsley and the board for continuing to keep the fire department up and running.
