Still no decision on Minneapolis fire chief

Members of the Minneapolis City Council met Wednesday to discuss the removal of Fire Chief Bonnie Bleskachek. But they have yet to determine if Bleskachek will return in a lesser rank or be fired altogether.

Members of the council's executive committee held their second closed-door meeting on the matter, but left with the fire chief's future with the department up in the air. Mayor R.T. Rybak would not talk about details of the meeting, but said that removing a fire chief is complicated.

The decision to end Bleskachek's tenure as fire chief comes amid a number of lawsuits and a city human resources investigation aimed at her performance.

Bleskachek, the city's first female and first lesbian fire chief, has been sued by four firefighters. The lawsuits allege that Bleskachek unfairly denied them the right to advance because her romantic attachments with women in the department influenced her decisions.

The city can fire Bleskachek completely from the department, or work out a deal to keep her on the force in a lesser rank. Bleskachek says she doesn't want to return as chief and would take a voluntary demotion.

Bleskachek's lawyer says he's not discouraged by the delay. The executive committee will take up the matter again next week.

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