Plainfield Township Fire Chief Dave Peterson is retiring with lots of praise from township officials but also with a black mark on his record.
Peterson, township officials have confirmed, agreed to retire under pressure after receiving a second warning that he had not followed township procedures for submitting grant applications -- an act he had been told was cause for dismissal.
Township protocol requires the fire chief or any department head to seek the Township Board's approval for all grant applications before they are submitted. Peterson recently failed to seek the Township Board's approval for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant application that sought funding for two firefighters. He had also failed to get the board's approval for a similar grant two years ago. At the time, township officials confirmed they told Peterson that if it happened again, it would cost him his job.
On Monday, June 6, the Township Board approved a separation agreement with Peterson that he had signed on May 11.
Peterson did not attend the meeting.