POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The Polk County Fire Rescue chief is resigning from his post after a review reportedly revealed management issues and "numerous challenges."
Hezedean Smith tendered his resignation to County Manager Bill Beasley, according to a release from the county. Smith's last day will be Monday, Sept. 30. The county said the soon-to-be former fire chief's resignation came after a report was commissioned by the Board of County Commissioners to review management of the fire rescue division.
Before his last day on the job, he'll be serving two weeks of administrative leave.
“After meeting twice with Fire Chief Smith and Deputy County Manager Joe Halman, I have placed Chief Hezedean Smith on two weeks of Administrative Leave, which will precede his resignation,” Beasley said in a statement.
The review reportedly began back in February and examined the work environment throughout the division after the board hired an outside firm to conduct it. The county noted that this was a review and not an investigation.
The report received after this review allegedly outlined "numerous challenges" and gave a recommendation for the county manager to review "alleged management issues." Inside the 721-page document, employees complained of a "toxic" work environment and alleged poor treatment by the chief. The review did not question Smith about the allegations and instead recommended Beasley look into them.
In a statement, Beasley said "challenges and frustrations" were expressed by fire rescue members, and that the board is focused on making "necessary" changes.
“I take the challenges and frustrations expressed by members of our fire rescue division to heart and want to assure our employees that Polk County wants to create a high-performing, highly valued culture within the Fire Rescue operation,” Beasley said. “Our focus is to immediately consider necessary changes to achieve that goal.”
Smith started at Polk County Fire Rescue on Nov. 7, 2022. His reported annual salary was $168,096.22.
Beasley has reportedly named Assistant Chief Shawn Smith as interim chief. Shawn Smith, who is not related to the ousted fire chief, has been with Polk County Fire Rescue for 21 years. In 2003, he started his career as a Firefighter/EMT. He was promoted to Engineer/Paramedic in 2005 and then Lieutenant/Paramedic in 2007.
In 2016, Shawn Smith was promoted to Battalion Chief/Paramedic. Then, in 2019, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of Training. By 2021, he transitioned to Deputy Chief of Operations until his promotion to Assistant Chief of Business Services.