A township fire and EMS chief is on unpaid suspension and an investigation into his conduct alleges multiple performance issues, including misuse of a township truck and denied requests for dispatcher radio maintenance.

A preliminary investigation obtained by the Springfield News-Sun indicates Mad River Twp.-Enon Fire and EMS Chief David Leist’s performance as department commander has been lacking in 14 areas, particularly in equipment care, his own conduct and staff relations.

Neither Leist nor his attorney, Mark J. Bamberger, returned calls for comment Monday afternoon.

In a letter to township trustees, Bamberger wrote that trustees haven’t followed the Ohio Revised Code or their own progressive disciplinary process.

“Rumors and accusations without merit have been used to escalate potential discipline against our client in direct violation of this guidance,” Bamberger wrote.

The investigation, conducted by German Twp. Fire Department Chief Tim Holman at the request of Mad River Twp. Trustees, was compiled through interviews of department officers and members, records, emails, memos and the policy manual.

Names of the staff interviewed were not included in the report. “Most people I talked to did not want their names in the report. They were concerned about being singled out,” Holman wrote.

It found Leist — who is a part-time township employee with a base pay of about $9,700 annually — failed to provide routine maintenance to dispatcher radios and denied training funds for certified emergency medical dispatchers’ required continuing education.

The investigation also said dispatchers are hesitant to ask for anything and they alleged Leist will threaten them, including turning township’s dispatch services over to the county. He’s also accused of not attending dispatcher meetings for several years.

Staff members also raised concerns about dirty medic units and a failure to inventory the units’ medical supplies each day.

“Although there is no law stating that medic units have to to be inventoried on a daily basis, the organization is liable for having the correct equipment and supplies when responding to calls,” according to Holman’s report.

On Sept. 21, Leist received a written reprimand from trustees following a traffic crash on Sept. 19 in Enon involving a department brush truck.

According to the action report following the crash, Leist was cited by the trustees for carelessness, improper conduct and the unauthorized use of township time and vehicle.

“While on part-time paid duty, Fire and EMS Chief David Leist used the Mad River Twp. brush truck for personal use. In doing so, he caused an accident when he collided with another vehicle, causing damage to that vehicle,” according to the action report.

He was issued a traffic citation by Enon police, who alleged Leist backed the truck into a FedEx delivery truck in the 1100 block of Bluejay Drive.

Leist said he was driving the truck around advising homeowners of a tornado siren installation and drove down Bluejay to look at a house on his way from Hagan Road to Enon-Xenia Road.

The report also says Leist has not communicated well with staff and officers and doesn’t answer emails or return phone calls.

It also cites a lack of accountability among staff, including issues with incomplete firehouse housekeeping and chores, ignored rules and a lack of fair corrective action, tardiness and smoking in the firehouse.

Other concerns included new staff members placed in the part-time program before completing required orientation or training, staff members failing to use the time clock, no job descriptions, performance evaluations not reviewed with some staff and projects not being followed through.

Leist, according to the report, does not attend trainings on a regular basis and when he does, he may arrive late or leave early. He did attend the required Protocol Training.

Attorney Bamberger, citing the Ohio Revised Code, believes the actions taken thus far against Leist don’t conform with state law and the township’s discipline policy.

Bamberger, citing the township’s discipline policy, writes, “Once an investigation is commenced … detailed and written charges must be provided to the trustees and copied to the subject employee; followed by a full hearing and, if necessary, an appeal. In other words, proven allegations … must be proven and our client must be allowed to confront his accusers and the charges lodged against him in a formal hearing.”

Leist, 49, was hired by the township in September 2002, according to his personnel file.

It’s not the first time Leist has been accused of misconduct as a public servant, according to News-Sun records.

A Clark County Common Pleas judge dismissed a records tampering case against Leist in February 2008, who was then a county utilities official.

Leist was accused of knowingly falsifying monthly drinking water tests on at least one occasion in 2006.

The investigation is ongoing and a final investigation report would be discussed at the trustees regular meeting Nov. 5, said Board of Trustees President Joe Catanzaro.

“We’re going to go off of the facts,” Catanzaro said. But, he said, as an elected official charged with taxpayer money, “I want to make sure everything’s being ran correctly.”