April 8, 2021 By Mike Kruzman & Jon King / news@whmi.com
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit between a former fire marshal and Putnam Township.
In September 2019, the Putnam Township Board of Trustees voted 5-0 during a special meeting to terminate Fire Marshal Jennifer Koch, who had been with the department for 23 years. At the time of her firing, she attributed her termination to alleged harassment from Fire Chief Curt Ruf, which he denied. Ruf said the township investigated the claims and determined they were unfounded and that Koch was let go after she walked off the job following a meeting concerning a dispute and then did not call or show up for work the next day.