By Allen Edmonds
Belton Fire Chief Norman Larkey resigned Friday, after having been placed on administrative leave by City Manager Alexa Barton earlier this month.
Assistant Chief Bobby Sperry was also placed on administrative leave on May 9, but he later resigned to accept the Fire Chief’s position at West Peculiar Fire Protection District.
Barton said Friday that she could not elaborate on any reasons for the suspension or resignation.
“There’s nothing I can disclose.”
She said Battalion Chief John Sapp would assume the role of Acting Chief immediately, and that a search for a permanent replace for Larkey would begin next week.
Reached on Friday evening, Larkey said he would discuss the issues surrounding his resignation next week, and that he did not take a severance, “because I didn’t want to be kept silent for the next three months.”
Larkey, who was raised in Belton and went on to a career in the Kansas City Fire Department, accepted the job as Belton Fire Chief in August 2014.