At the first official meeting for the newly-composed Sedona Fire District’s Governing Board, staff and public were hoping to get some answers, but many were left with more questions than they came with.
The management team, acting as interim fire chief, asked the board to discuss its philosophies Wednesday, Dec. 17, about the scope and duties of the management team, fiscal year 2009-2010 budget, the Chapel station project, the SFD Citizens Task Force and the search for a new fire chief.
By Alison Ecklund
Larson Newspapers
At the first official meeting for the newly-composed Sedona Fire District’s Governing Board, staff and public were hoping to get some answers, but many were left with more questions than they came with.
The management team, acting as interim fire chief, asked the board to discuss its philosophies Wednesday, Dec. 17, about the scope and duties of the management team, fiscal year 2009-2010 budget, the Chapel station project, the SFD Citizens Task Force and the search for a new fire chief.
Speaking from the public, Lisa Bravo, founder of Support Sedona Firefighters, had questions of her own for the board, but since it wasn’t on the agenda, the board couldn’t respond.
“With new members, I think it’s important to know the new vision of the board,” Bravo said. “I’m asking to be brought up to speed with the policies. Now is the time for us to be informed.”
Scope of Management Team
“It’s an obligation of the board to deal with the fire chief, even though there’s four of them,” acting-Chairwoman Liza Vernet told the board.
The management team has been working hard and one member of the board needs to sit in on the team’s
weekly meetings and have a relationship with the interim team, she said.
Caryn Maxwell, who recently resigned after 10 years on the board, spoke as a member of the public.
“You are expected to respect the team, so to have everyone uncomfortable, feeling you’re not going to participate, concerns me,” she told the board.
Board member Don Harr admitted he thinks the concept of having a management team act as interim fire chief is “kind of unusual.”
Since there are two new board members, soon to be three, he asked that the new board discuss the concept further.
Board member Charles Christensen asked for the item to be placed on the Saturday, Jan. 10, agenda for the board to discuss.
2009-2010 Budget
By the end of the current fiscal year, the district should have $2.25 million to set aside as a reserve fund, Business Director Karen Daines said. And with cuts from the current operating budget, the district will have an extra $500,000 on top of that.
The board can decide to add the extra $500,000 to the $2.25 million rainy-day fund, or the board could choose to spend it on a one-time capital reserve project, Daines said.
Christensen said he supported the plans, but Harr was a little less clear.
“What you’re doing is excellent,” he told Daines. “But it’ll be an area a number of us will be working on with your group.”
Vernet asked the board to look beyond dollars and cents.
“It’s more than money, it’s an insurance policy,” she said. “It’s insurance that you’ll be treated by a dedicated, well-trained medical and fire staff, and personally I’m glad to pay my taxes for that.”
Harr doesn’t disagree with that, he said, but if someone asks about accountability, the district should be able to answer.
“There’s no desire to change what’s here, just to add that layer of accountability that’s expected,” he said.
Chapel Station Project
Plans to build a fire station in the Chapel area are nearing 95 percent completion, Assistant Chief Terry Keller said.
Plans to build were put off until April due the economic downturn, he told the board, but what’s going to happen after that?
“We have a contract,” Keller said. SFD needs to tell the contractors if it plans to continue or if they should seek other work.
Christensen asked for more time for the board to discuss the plans, and Harr asked for the board to see the contracts and finances.
SFD Citizens Task Force
What direction should the task force be going? Fire Marshal Will Loesche asked the board.
“I believe it was an effort to offer another vehicle for public input in our decision making,” Daines said.
Based on the amount of time that’s passed since it was set up and with so many other committees, Harr, who once served on a similar task force, recommended it be discontinued.
Vernet was in favor of continuing the task force, and Christensen didn’t see a purpose for it any more.
The board asked the management team to come back to it with a recommendation.
Search for a Fire Chief
The district didn’t receive as many good candidates for fire chief as it expected, Daines said, after the Dec. 12 deadline, so the search committee extended the deadline to Monday, Dec. 29.
If there are no good candidates, don’t force fit, Harr said.
The search committee hoped to choose 15 to 20 candidates to move on to a questionnaire, but ended up selecting eight to 10.
“We were a little disappointed with the pool of applicants,” Daines told the board.
Other agencies are also struggling to fill chief-level positions, especially because most applicants aren’t local, Daines said.
“We’re talking about people who probably have to sell their homes and relocate,” Daines said. “We have heard anecdotally that there may be problems with our pay scale.”
