Blanchard

FACTS

Blanchard was a fire captain in the City's fire department. On October 8, 2008, Fire Chief Milligan gave notice to Blanchard that the department intended to demote him "from Fire Captain to the rank of Fire Engineer" because of "improprieties regarding [his] use of sick leave, family sick leave and numerous overtime opportunities." In the notice, Milligan said Blanchard, among other things, had "admitted" to: 1) "retroactively changing a work code, thereby falsifying public documents"; 2) "replacing the original roster with a falsified roster, thereby exhibiting either extremely poor judgment or a desire to conceal [his] actions"; and 3) "discarding the original roster" showing poor judgment or an intent to conceal his actions. Blanchard appealed and received a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Assistant Fire Department Chief Brad Windsor testified that Blanchard "changed a work code, he falsified public records," and "he was dishonest about it." Blanchard testified that he changed an employee leave time entry from family sick leave to regular sick leave on a day he "wasn't ill." When asked if "that was an act of dishonesty," he responded, "It…