ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Thursday, two St. Petersburg city council members walked back public statements about Fire Chief Jim Large.
"I do see how someone could interpret it differently than I meant it," said councilmember Richie Floyd.
"I do understand in hindsight that those comments could have been misconstrued to be a blatant disregard for our charter. And once again, I cannot state more clearly that was not my intention," said councilmember Brandi Gabbard.
This clarification comes after the pair reacted to the results of an anonymous city-wide employee survey that revealed concerns about the culture of the fire department.
On Saturday, Large was placed on paid administrative leave while the mayor's office conducts a review of the feedback in that report.
However, those are concerns the chief's lawyer, Jay Hebert, said that they question for the most part.
"If you've done something for 49 and a half years and this issue has never been raised, and your track record is zero disciplinary actions as an individual, and you're willing to listen to your employees? What is this really all about?" he said.
Hebert tells ABC Action News that the chief is open to feedback about increasing diversity within the department's higher ranks.
He said in that instance, the chief is often forced to promote from a pool of candidates who have passed certain tests but aren't very diverse.
He added that Large is now looking for ways to encourage more diverse candidates to take the necessary tests to help them qualify for a promotion.
"Jim Large wants to find the answers, wants to find the solutions if [they're] not taking the lieutenants test [or they] need more training. How do we do that? Do we offer a prep class? Do we encourage all of our firefighters regardless? Because the bottom line is we want the best firefighters. We want the best for our citizens," said Hebert.
As the chief works to move forward, the city council said they also want to partner with the department to help fill any gaps.
Councilwoman Gina Driscoll put forward a motion Thursday for the city to try and conduct a management study on the fire department to see where it can improve.
"It's an outside consultant that looks at a specific department and makes recommendations for improvement. Clearly, I think that's something that we can benefit from right now," she said.
Councilmembers will discuss a budget and a scope for that study at a meeting on August 24.
