Beach Fire to seek job description pro
Before delving into a recruitment process for their next fire chief, officials from the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District have decided to seek proposals for a specialist that can make an examination of department responsibilities and expectations tasked to the lead administrative officer of this particular municipality.
The FMB Board of Fire Commissioners hope to have a short list of company proposals from certified state professionals to review, discuss and possibly vote on at their June 2 workshop meeting. Once the selection process is over, a timeline to complete such a job description analysis was cited to be six to eight weeks.
At their May 5 workshop meeting, the Beach fire commissioners did approve a modified fire chief position description after they updated the written representation. They now believe a more comprehensive look into the description is needed to support or correct the board-generated job description.
“There are too many ways we can get tripped up if we try to do it ourselves,” said Commissioner John Pohland. “There are way too many rules, regulations and prejudices to be eliminated.”
Commission Chairperson Carol Morris tried to support a motion to hire a specific specialist who helped define one for Iona-McGregor Fire Protection and Rescue Service District. That motion failed when fellow commissioners wanted to view more company options and perform a vetting process prior to hiring someone. They also wanted to have a proposed contract with a cost estimate in front of them.
“I want to see more than one choice here,” said Pohland.
“I would like to see a proposal from the company. I can’t vote on something when I don’t know how much it costs,” added Commissioner Larry Wood.
Some fire commissioners were leery about having a hired gun continue to search for a fire chief candidate once the job description process is complete. Morris agreed, but pushed for the first process to begin as soon as possible.
“You want to be sure that you really have defined what is key for your district, so that when you do then hire, you truly have hired for the correct position.” she said. “Before you can do the recruitment process, you have to be sure that the job description you are recruiting for was developed for the District itself.”
Beach Fire Attorney Richard Pringle believes there is a benefit to having someone assist in the job description process. A committee could include Beach Fire personnel.
“It changes from being a board crafted and drafted job description to an organization-wide crafted and drafted job description when all the stakeholders from the District are a part of the decision,” he said.
Fire Chief Darren White’s three-year contract term ends Sept. 30, 2015. He is still in the running for a new contract, but there has been talk within the District that a vetting process is needed to select the next person for that office position for employee morale reasons instead of just renewing White’s contract. If a new chief is not in position once White’s contract is up, it was stated he would continue work without a contract.
Beach Fire commissioners have said they hope a future candidate can unify the department to better serve the community.
White was assistant fire chief and became acting chief when former Beach Fire Chief Mike Becker was dismissed from his position. The Fire Board later dropped the “acting” from his title. Beach Fire records state his annual salary was $120,000 at his signing on Oct. 1, 2012, and that he received a three percent increase on Oct. 1, 2014.
White has never received a job evaluation from the Fire Board, something that is required on a semi-annual basis for each person that is in that particular office.
The head of the fire department provides leadership and administrative direction to district personnel and activities as well as being the spokesperson for the district and reports to the Board on all financial, operations and actions of the fire district.
Beach Fire approves audited financial statement
After listening to a presentation on an independent auditing process, the Fire Board approved the 2014 audit report performed by Tuscan & Company P.A.
Jeff Tuscan provided documentation on the audit and stated the Beach Fire financial statements “present fairly in all material respects.”
“That is the highest level an independent auditor can issue,” he said.
Regarding the “Internal Control and Compliance Report,” results of tests performed disclosed “no instances of noncompliance” that were required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.
“In our opinion, Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District complied, in all material respects, with the aforementioned requirements for the year ended Sept. 30, 2014,” Tuscan said.
Tuscan & Company P.A. has been a long-time auditing company for Beach Fire. The Board of Fire Commissioners agreed to retain its services for next year by unanimously approving a one-year contract with the independent auditor.
Former fire chief settlement signed
Beach Fire Attorney Richard Pringle informed fire commissioners that a settlement agreement regarding a case involving former fire chief Mike Becker has been signed and is no longer an issue.