The Grand Blanc Township board reinstated Fire Chief Jamie Jent following controversy over fire department staffing and budget cuts raised after the Sept. 28 church attack

By Max Bryan
The Detroit News

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. — The Grand Blanc Township board announced Tuesday at its board meeting that it had reinstated the fire chief, who had been on administrative leave, after leaders were considering firing him.

Fire Chief Jamie Jent was placed on administrative leave this month after a discussion with township Superintendent Dennis Liimatta, according to the Grand Blanc Professional Firefighters Local 4962. Liimatta oversees the township’s day-to-day operations. The discussion followed a fire union letter to the township board on Oct. 14 that requested meetings to discuss operations and challenges in the Fire Department.

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It is unclear why Jent was placed on leave.

The union’s letter alleged Liimatta cut four full-time fire positions from the township’s proposed 2026 budget weeks before the Sept. 28 gunman’s attack on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which killed four people and destroyed the building in a fire. The department has six full-time and 28 part-time firefighters, according to township staff.

During a public comment period at the board meeting, Jent alleged Liimatta told him to notify him before communicating with the union, a move Jent said violates federal labor laws.

Jent told the board he was concerned about operational gaps in the Fire Department and public safety, and he claimed township officials tried to get him to present “a unified front” on operations.

“No fire service professional with integrity would accept a position that prohibits them from identifying operational gaps that affect community safety,” Jent told the board.

An item on the township board agenda Tuesday about Jent’s employment was removed following a conversation Monday between Jent and Liimatta, according to township Supervisor Scott Bennett.

Firefighters and residents at the standing-room-only meeting voiced support for Jent and raised concerns about department staffing levels following the attack on the church.

Grand Blanc Township firefighter Brent Connell, who has worked in fire service for more than 30 years, said he raised concerns about only having two firefighters per apparatus when he was hired two and a half years ago.

“I was told this was how it’s always been done, and the current administration is fine with it,” Connell said. “Then came Sept. 28 , the day that none of us will ever forget. The unthinkable happened, yet the brave men and women of the Grand Blanc Township Fire Department responded.”

Since Sept. 28, Jen said he has required three firefighters per apparatus.

“Your decisions affect everyone in the community. Not just you, not just the budget, and not just the firefighters — and we owe more than we could ever possibly give them,” resident Cari Fritz told the board.

In an Oct. 22 statement, interim Fire Chief Kent Maricle said staffing levels “meet and exceed” National Fire Protection Association requirements. The fire union said staffing levels do not meet NFPA Standard 1710. The standard applies to full-time fire departments, which Grand Blanc Township does not have.

Liimatta said he discussed with Jent how the township does not have to meet this standard, but noted Jent’s push for his department to be “the best.”

Several speakers brought up how the Fire Department gets less money than the Police Department. The Fire Department has $2.5 million proposed in the 2026 budget, while $11.6 million is proposed for the Police Department. The township has 0.96 mills set aside for fire, or 96 cents for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

Bennett said the board will have a full presentation on fire operations on Nov. 11.

The questions about fire funding come as the board considers its budget in the coming weeks, which must be approved by Dec. 31.

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