After an hour of deliberation during a closed meeting Monday night, the Austin City Council voted 6-1 to file a complaint against Austin Fire Chief Dan Wilson, with council member Brian McAlister voting against it. The council also discussed the personnel matter during a closed session March 23.

City Administrator Jim Hurm, Human Resources Director Tricia Wiechmann and City Attorney David Hoversten all said the nature of the complaint is not public information.

“The nature of the complaint cannot be revealed until there is final disposition of the matter and that’s under state law,” Hoversten said.

Hoversten did not say who the complaint was filed to, but did confirm that Chief Wilson had not been placed on leave.

The complaint comes on the heels of a complaint filed against Chief Wilson by local business owner Carla McCarthy. McCarthy filed her complaint with the Austin Police Department following a Feb. 12 fire committee meeting about fire department scheduling where she alleges a confrontation took place between her and the fire chief.

McCarthy claimed during a city council meeting Feb. 17 that Wilson verbally attacked her during the fire committee meeting.

The meeting had not been recorded, and witness accounts have varied regarding what happened during the incident.

“He was screaming in my face,” she alleged. “If my business or home caught fire … he screamed that I could burn to the ground.”

Wilson has maintained that his focus is not on any complaint against him, but on the scheduling of his department.

“I am more concerned about what’s going to happen with the schedule of the fire department than any complaint filed against me,” he said earlier this month.

Albert Lea attorney Robert D. Sturtz reviewed the McCarthy complaint on behalf of the City of Austin and released a statement March 16 saying that no charges would be filed because guilt beyond a reasonable doubt could not be proven.

Following that statement, Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp said that for all practical purposes, the matter was closed for them.

The city council can still review the matter on its own, although Hoversten said he could not confirm that Monday’s complaint against Wilson stemmed from the alleged Feb. 12 fire committee meeting incident.

Wilson chose not to comment on the city council’s actions Monday.

“I guess I would have to see it before I can comment on it,” he said about the complaint.

McCarthy also chose not to comment.