Coatesville Fire Chief Kevin Johnson will not be stepping down, but that's all he would say about the situation.

City Manager Harry Walker called the chief's momentary impulse to leave a "knee jerk reaction" related to some unspecified frustrations.

“I’m not going to discuss my frustrations in the Daily Local News,” the chief said (in Wednesday's story). “I discussed them with the people I needed to discuss them with.”

The chief submitted his resignation letter to city officials two weeks ago. At a City

Council meeting the same night, Johnson would not confirm he would be stepping down, even as other city officials said they had received copies of Johnson’s letter.

...On Tuesday, Johnson continued to be elusive.

Asked again about his resignation letter, Johnson replied, “That doesn’t mean nothing. It’s a piece of paper. Is it signed?”

Everyone says Coatesville Fire Chief Kevin Johnson will be stepping down at the end of the month, except for the fire chief.

Asked about his resignation letter after Monday's meeting, which had been received by several city officials, Johnson said, what resignation letter. That's a paraphrase, read exactly what he said here.

City officials are contemplating major changes to Coatesville's Fire Department.

“There are numerous organizational issues,” affecting the department, City Manager Harry Walker reported during last week’s City Council meeting.

This comes two weeks after it was revealed department’s overtime expenses already have surpassed the budget estimate for the entire year.

From this weekend's story:

The understaffed Coatesville Fire Department has exceeded its budgeted overtime expenses for the year in less than five months, according to city officials.

The department’s 2008 budget passed by City Council in January allotted the department $15,000 to pay for the extra shifts covered by the city’s full-time firefighters. On Thursday, city spokeswoman Kristin Geiger confirmed Coatesville had paid more than $24,100 so far this year.

Coatesville hopes alleviate the problem by hiring more full-time firefighters, and the city has begun advertising three openings in the department. Geiger said applications for those positions will be accepted through June 20.

From those applicants the city plans to administer a civil service test and hopes to compile an eligibility list.

No date has been set for the test yet, and it looks like it could be the middle of the summer before anyone is hired, at the earliest.