Support Cori Wallis. Fired and criminally charged for doing what the City of Chanhassen asked him to.

Cori Wallis is a Chanhassen resident and a loving family man.  He has worked for the City for the past 21-years garnering positive employment reviews in both his position as the Utility Operator and Assistant Fire Chief.  Cori has raised his family in Chanhassen while dedicating his working career to loyally serving the City and its citizens.  Cori’s loyalty to the City has now cost him his job, his reputation, his paycheck, and has forced him to defend himself in criminal court.

Cori, in his position as Utility Operator, complied with the City’s instruction to tamper with the meter in his home, which instructions have been given to him numerous times over the course of the last 11 years.  The purpose of the City’s instructions in testing out and tampering with the water meter was to determine if the new meters were working correctly and if and how someone could tamper with one to avoid paying for the water services.  Cori, the loyal employee that he is, dutifully followed the instructions from his superiors and the City of Chanhassen.     

The City, in return, accused Cori of theft of water services, placed him on administrative leave, and charged him with a misdemeanor which is punishable by a sentence of 90 days, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. The City did not contact the water meter company prior to taking these actions and prior to criminally charging Cori. The City did not contact Cori prior to taking these actions. The City did not conduct any investigation prior to taking these actions. Instead, the City took actions that significantly and irreparably damaged Cori's reputation and caused Cori and his entire family financial and emotional damages solely because he dutifully complied with the City’s instructions.

UPDATE: 11/2/15 The charges have been dropped.  Step one complete 

Cori's position as Utility Operator, the position in which he unequivocally complied with the City’s instructions, is unrelated to his position as Assistant Fire Chief, of which he has also now been stripped of.  Cori has worked years, dedicated significant hours to, and spent significant time away from his wife and four boys in working towards his highly coveted position as Assistant Fire Chief.  Being a fire chief is not something you become because you have the highest education, or are the most physically capable. It’s a job you earn through years of time away from your family training, sleepless nights putting out fires, dedication to your fellow firefighters, and days looking for a resident’s missing loved one. It’s not seeing your children open their presents because you were saving a grandfather from a heart attack on Christmas night, or running back into a burning house because a little boy left his favorite blanket. It is putting everyone before yourself, in every situation.  It is hard work and low pay, but, it is a position that Cori loved, his family respected, and the City’s citizens benefited greatly from. That is all gone now.

Following the City’s unexplained and unsupported decision to strip Cori of his much loved position as Assistant Fire Chief, Cori had to explain to his four children why he could not be at the Station for Fire Prevention week, or why he no longer was driving a fire truck, or whether he had to give back the white helmet he earned as the Assistant Fire Chief.  These discussions and explanations were emotionally devastating to Cori and his family. These are discussions and explanations he should not have had to give to his family and friends as he has done nothing wrong and in fact, simply followed the exact instructions of the City and his superiors.

The City, to date, has yet to provide any evidence to substantiate placing Cori on administrative leave or upon which the criminal misdemeanor charge is based. In Cori’s last meeting with the city manager he acknowledged that there is no basis upon which to terminate Cori; instead asking if he would resign his positions with the City because he did not believe that Cori could go back to a positive working environment in light of the accusations the City has flung on him. Moreover, the city manager expressly acknowledged that the frivolous criminal charges would be dropped.  To date, the City is continuing to pursue these unsupported charges.

The City was supposed to provide leadership, direction and guidance to all city departments. Their actions have not only harmed The Wallis Family, but their actions have harmed the residents of Chanhassen who will no longer benefit from Cori’s high quality of service to the City as both the Utility Operator as well as the Assistant Fire Chief. 

While at this point we have tried to keep the peace, we no longer can afford to do so nor do we believe that the citizens of Chanhassen should tolerate such behavior from their City officials or be left in the dark regarding the City in which they live. Cori was bullied into signing an agreement of administrative leave on 10/27/15 to end in one month. If he refused, he would be fired immediately and lose all benefits for his family without any explanation as to the basis for such harsh actions. As any family man would do and with no financial choice, Cori put his family first and signed the letter, while reserving his rights and remedies against the City, to ensure he had a month of income and health insurance for his children.

Friends, neighbors and citizens we are asking you to sign this petition to voice your discontent with the way Cori has been treated by the City and those in charge. Place yourself in Cori’s position and try to imagine what it would be like to be terminated and charged criminally for obeying the instructions of your boss.  The City’s actions are not in good faith – actions by individuals and a City that is supposed to protect its citizens and employees rather than throwing one of their own into the proverbial fire simply for following their instructions.   We would like to hear your voice as to whether you condone these actions by the City and the manner in which they are spending your tax dollars or if you believe that firing someone and charging them criminally for dutifully following the instructions of their boss is wrong.

Please do not condone these actions – help us stand up for Cori’s and his family’s rights.