More than a year after a complaint that Bradley County's fire chief was involved in falsifying his certifications, Tennessee's Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education Commission still hasn't held a hearing on the charge.
The fire commission is holding its quarterly business meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Gatlinburg, but the complaint against Fire Chief Troy Maney isn't on its agenda.
Kevin Walters, spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, confirmed via email that Maney hasn't been served with the required 30 days' notice of a hearing.
"We will provide an update when we can," Walters said.
The complaint against Maney, filed April 18, 2015, alleged Maney received certification for fire instructor testing that took place April 7, 2015, in La Vergne, Tenn., according to Times Free Press archives. The complaint was signed by battalion commanders Myron Hawkins and Donald Tankersley and Capt. Jeff Stewart.
The letter said Maney couldn't have taken the test because he was doing in-service training at the Bradley County Sheriff's Office that day with approximately 45 deputies. It suggests Battalion Cmdr. Ronnie Goss was an accessory, alleging he was in La Vergne on the April 7 test date and was present on other testing occasions when Maney was not there.
It said none of the fire department's current training staff "have signed off or witnessed Chief Maney completing any practical testing for any of the certifications he has tested for and obtained."
Maney, who was named chief in August 2013 after serving for years as deputy chief, told the Times Free Press last year he took the fire instructor test in Bradley County, not La Vergne. He could not recall the date of the test.
In August 2015, fire commission officials said they were preparing a formal hearing to revoke any certifications that Maney or Goss obtained in a "fraudulent, false or unauthorized manner."
Asked whether there was some holdup in the investigation process, TDCI spokesman Walters said no but said there have been some "logistical challenges."
"For example, the Firefighting Commission meets quarterly - approximately four times per year - which limits the number of opportunities for meeting. Further, the Commission does not establish their meeting schedule annually but only at the previous meeting. And the Commission also does not meet at a regularly scheduled location or time but, instead, moves across the state and meets in the three Grand Divisions each year.
"Finally, the completion and review of the investigation, as well as trial preparation (getting witness availability coordinated) has also taken time," he said in the email.
Maney's attorney, Jim Logan, said Thursday if the fire commission authorizes an investigation, the evidence will show an authorized agent administered the test at a fire station in Bradley County and Maney complied with all procedures.
He said the certification is not required for Maney's present position as the fire department's chief administrator.
"Mr. Maney did not need these certifications. They do not enhance his income in any way, shape, form or fashion," Logan said. "It is not a prerequisite or qualification - he got the job without the certifications and is willing to surrender those certifications if there is not a compliance with what should have been."