Sylvania Township’s fire chief, who was placed on leave Feb. 12, won’t return to work and will officially retire next year, according to an agreement approved Monday by the township’s Board of Trustees.
Chief Michael Ramm will remain on paid administrative leave until the close of business Tuesday and retire from his position effective Feb. 28, 2025.
Effective May 1, the township will allow him to convert 1,632 hours of accrued sick leave to paid time off and use the sick leave hours and 112 holiday hours through his retirement date.
Chief Ramm will have 134.26 sick hours, 240 vacation hours, 24 personal hours, and eight bonus hours remaining. The township will pay $23,433.08 for the hours upon his retirement.
Chief Ramm will remain on the township’s health care plan until February.
The agreement further stipulates: “The chief will receive, on or around Jan. 15, 2025, a longevity payment in accordance with township policy calculated to be $5,998.72.”
The agreement provides that his personnel record with the Sylvania Township Fire Department will reflect that he retired.
Chief Ramm has until May 16 to sign the agreement.
Trustee John Jennewine voted against the separation agreement.
“Chief Ramm has been on leave since February, and our investigation has shown he has done an extremely poor job over the years,” Mr. Jennewine said. “He has disrupted the fire department. I thought he should have been fired. He will now be on our payroll until February.
“We will now be paying two fire chiefs, with one of them doing nothing — this at a time we will be putting a levy on the ballot,” Mr. Jennewine said. “He is being paid for unused vacation time, sick days, and his salary. We are rewarding somebody who does not deserve it.”
He said the trustees will be coming up with a dollar amount for a levy that will be placed on the ballot in November.
Mr. Jennewine said assistant fire chief Chris Nye will continue to serve as acting fire chief.
“Acting Chief Nye submitted his retirement one month ago,” Mr. Jennewine said. “He told us he would only stay if Chief Ramm was gone. We are just lucky the department has been able to keep up with the day-to-day operations. I believe 85 percent of what they do is EMS now.
“I have a lot of respect for the fire department. They saved my dad’s and my son’s life. They do a tremendous job,” he said.
Mr. Jennewine said the fire department has had several issues.
Battalion Chief Michael Szafarowicz resigned abruptly, effective April 22, Mr. Jennewine said.
In a letter dated April 20, Chief Szafarowicz wrote, “All, I would like to announce that I will be retiring effective April 22nd. I wish you all of the best.”
Reached at home, Trustee John Crandall refused to comment.
Reached after the meeting, Trustee Neal Mahoney said Chief Ramm was not fired.
“He resigned, and we approved that today,” Mr. Mahoney said. “I would like to thank Mike Ramm for his years of service to the township.”
Mr. Mahoney did confirm the township is looking at placing a fire levy on the ballot.
Chief Ramm succeeded Jeffrey Kowalski, who retired in March, 2017. Chief Ramm has spent his entire career with the township, having joined the force in 1995 after working 14 years as a volunteer firefighter.
Battalion Chief Szafarowicz was appointed to Sylvania Fire-EMS on Feb. 9, 1998. He was promoted to lieutenant Sept. 7, 2008, and to battalion chief March 8, 2020.
Mr. Ramm did not return repeated messages requesting comment.
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