Van Buren Township Fire Chief Daniel Besson has resigned from his position to take a new job as fire chief of Leland Township in Leelanau County.
He will fill the position left by Fire Chief Rick Royston, who is retiring. Chief Besson, who has been VBT chief for 4 ½ years, plans to leave his position in VBT at the end of February.
Besson said his wife Jennifer has been full time at a job in Grayling since the beginning of December. He said their cabin is in that area.
Besson said this will be a new adventure for him since he was born and raised in Belleville. He served on the Belleville Fire Department in 1992-94 and has been in the VBT fire department since 1994, making it his 25th year as a fire fighter in this community.
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19 Comments
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I just read the job posting for this open position on the Van Buren website. I think the job requirements should be changed as far as education. This position should not require a higher education requirement than the Director of Public Safety. This isn’t right. Currently, the D of PS does not have any education outside of high school, experience should be enough. This should be the same, besides who wouldn’t rather have someone in charge with 20 years of experience as opposed to someone green with a degree? I would pick experience.
Seriously? Just because they dumbed-down the requirements for the current PS Director, you think they should dumb them down for all our directors? Just look at Jason Wright. He should be running Public Safety not a patrol officer with a high school diploma that worked his way up by playing kiss-butt with Sharry.
I personally would much rather have someone with an education. Someone who isn’t educated can put organizations at risk for liability and negligence. I can’t believe the director of police only has a high school diploma! How does that happen in a large community like ours? It should be a condition of employment to keep his job, enroll in college courses or be demoted.
The Fire Chief should be the best qualified applicant for our township. I will strongly push for professional testing for this position by EMPCO, an evaluation company specializing in testing Police and Fire Chiefs and other high level PS employees. I want the top 3 or4 applicants to come before the Board of Trustees for our evaluation for the best fit for our community. The proper way to choose our next Fire Chief instead of through “political process and evaluation”. Just my position. Then, a background check by a professional person, maybe Fifer Investigations of Canton and Psychological Testing and Drug testing. This is a very important position for the protection of our residents.
Paul White
Theres a difference between having experience and riding someones coattails. The PS director rode coattails.
Having a degree doesn’t mean much either, you are still capable of making poor decisions. Look at the FD chief prior to Besson…..
That is what I am saying. A degree makes no difference in this field. The best suited person is someone who has experienced everything the job has to offer. Making life and death decisions and being quick to react is not something you learn in a classroom.
Everyone makes a decision they wished they didn’t in life, but when it comes to the fire ground it could be a decision that put safety at risk. I ask again, would you rather have experience or a degree? Yep I thought so.
Mr. White, why did the Township hire a director to run the police department with no formal education? It contradicts why you just stated, I assuming you were on the board? I th8nk I am shocked still because police officers require so much education.
Deana Oswalt, I was not on the Board when the current PS Director was appointed.. The PS I appointed gave his resignation a few months after I was not reelected. As did the Director of Water and Sewer. Both were excellent Directors.
Well then the posting should have the requirements changed to reflect the same as the director. Or the director should have a clause to says he needs to obtain a degree or be demoted like the other person mentioned above. Things need to be fair across the positions and not have favoritism for certain people. The new supervisor said he would do that but it doesn’t seem like he is sticking to his word.
The PD has a director with no formal education because it was a political appointment; he did what he was told and this was his reward. The PD lost the educated, honorable Mr. McClanahan because he did not blindly obey the cronyism and political machinery that is still grinding away at township hall. His resignation was a great loss for the public safety department and the township as a whole.
Susan, the new supervisor is not sticking to his word because he is not in charge. The career politician is in charge.
Who are you referring to that is in charge? Isn’t there a board vote on most issues? I would think majority rules.
Besson proves that you can have experience and education and still be clueless. Look at attrition since he started as chief and its probably the highest it has ever been. We lost really good firefighters because no one could stand to work with him anymore, me included. I am happy he is leaving and we can get morale back to an acceptable level. I just hope that the board will analyze what the department needs and fill with a qualified person. Thanks Paul for your support as always.
Yes, majority rules but someone influences and advises based on favors and friendships.
It is absurd that we have a director of public safety with a high school diploma. Experience ?? Just because you work in a job for years doesn’t give you experience it’s my understanding he did nothing in career but walk the halls drinking coffee while other great employees of the Van Buren Township made him look good while he took credit for their work, as far as the deputy director he’s educated but when you work for as boss that’s not you tend to become a carbon copy of Ignorance and ego, not what Van Buren Township needs at all!! I commend the new Supervisor for demanding professional standards !! It might bring professional leadership to at least one department. It is funny that officers and firefighters are leaving great jobs at Van Buren Township not to mention they can’t get a qualified canadate to apply for either positions. Speaks very loudly of the lack of leadership and stupidy that goes on in a department with a undereducated, unproven leader. The supervisor. Should make him re-apply for his position and maybe the citizens and deparment could get a professional leader to take the great employees of both the police and fire department into the future. We all should stand up and demand the exellence we deserve as citizens. We just passed a millage to increase public safety funding let’s force the board to make them find a leader to manage that increase and the department because Mr. Laurain has not and is incapable.
They should reinstate the Public Safety Committee to assist with this type of interviewing and hiring.
Everyone knows that Sherry calls the shots. She always gets her way, so if she wants Greg Laurain then that’s what she gets. He needs to have an evaluation. How does he make 6 figures on a salary position ? Something smells stinky in the Township, especially on the heels of tax payers voting a public safety increase.
Sharry does not call the shots. There is a board that votes on issues so she doesn’t not have a full say so on anything that the board votes on.
You are delusional because she has control of all those sheep.