Court Opinion

ID: 9519350
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 01:14:49.292894+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:18.367526
License: Public Domain

KALITOWSKI, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. It is well settled that removing a public employee for a cause which does not affect the employee’s “competency or fitness would be an excess of power, and equivalent to an arbitrary removal.” In re Discharge of Kelvie, 384 N.W.2d 901, 904 (Minn.App.1986) (quoting State ex rel. Hart v. Common Council, 53 Minn. 238, 244, 55 N.W. 118, 120 (1893)).
The cause must be one touching the qualifications of the officer or his performance of its duties, showing that he is not a fit or proper person to hold the office. * * * [T]he sufficiency of the cause should be determined with reference to the character of the office, and the qualifications necessary to fill it.
City of Minneapolis v. Moe, 450 N.W.2d 367, 370 (Minn.App.1990) (quoting Ekstedt v. Village of New Hope, 292 Minn. 152, 162-63, 193 N.W.2d 821, 828 (1972)).
Conspicuously absent from both the presiding commissioner’s findings and recommendation as well as the commission’s final decision is a determination of how Caldwell’s drug possession, use and sale affected his competency or fitness as a firefighter. Absent specific findings, I disagree with the trial court’s determination that Moe, a case involving drug use by a police officer, mandates the conclusion that Caldwell’s misconduct undermined his ability to function effectively as a firefighter.
The commission found that Caldwell, the city’s first African-American firefighter, performed his duties in a superior manner for 17 years. Because this is a critical issue which substantially affects Caldwell’s livelihood, I believe it is inappropriate to independently search the record to find support for the commission’s decision. See Mayo v. Schiltgen, 921 F.2d 177, 179 (8th Cir.1990) (inappropriate for reviewing court to search the record to find other grounds to support agency’s decision where agency’s rationale was inadequate or improper).
The commission’s failure to find that Caldwell’s actions affected his ability to continue to serve as a firefighter is an error of law. I therefore would reverse the commission and remand this case for further findings and, if necessary, additional proceedings.