The executive director of Sacramento County’s main fire and emergency medical dispatch center, who as of Monday remained on administrative leave and the subject of a workplace violence restraining order, is in the first full year of an at-will employment contract that would pay nearly $200,000 by its third and final year.
Joseph Thuesen’s contract, provided to The Sacramento Bee in response to a public records request, commenced Aug. 28 after he had served for months as interim executive director of the Sacramento Regional Fire/EMS Communications Center, shortened in recent litigation to “the Center.”
Thuesen and one other unidentified employee were put on paid administrative leave April 12, while the Center’s board of governors investigates alleged “accounting irregularities.” The position of executive director at the Center remains vacant, and has not yet been filled on an interim basis.
A temporary restraining order came in response to an incident April 8, when Thuesen allegedly had an emotionally charged conversation with employees in which he referenced “vigilante justice” and owning an “arsenal” of guns.