Wednesday, 28 April 2010 03:00

Jackson Preps to Hire Full-Time Firefighters

slide1-jackson_preps_to_hire_full-time_firefighters.pngAmador County – The Jackson City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to direct staff to prepare the formal documents necessary to hire full-time firefighters as part of a city fire plan. City Manager Mike Daly said this is the latest step in a process that began after the “Amador Fire Protection District’s decision to reject a proposal from the Amador County Board of Supervisors to hire a Fire Services Manager to provide leadership for a consolidated fire agency.” Daly said the city council does not disapprove of the County’s action, but “feels we will be better served by hiring our own people.” The new organizational structure will include the hiring of a Fire Chief, Fire Captain and two Fire Engineers. Daly said the Fire Chief reports to him “and will direct and manage all City of Jackson Fire Department operations, including the current volunteer Fire Chief who would be reclassified as a volunteer Battalion Chief along with the current Assistant Fire Chief.” The Fire Chief, Fire Captain and Fire Engineers would all be full-time employees. Daly said “the job descriptions were developed by Jackson Fire Captain Mike Olivarria, who works full-time for CalFire as a Battalion Chief.” In preparing his descriptions, Olivarria evaluated the descriptions prepared by the AFPD and similarly structured fire agencies. The plan will be completely funded through Measure M, a ½ cent sales tax to support local firefighting services which was passed by voters last November. Daly projects the City will receive around $360,000 a year and currently has $341,463 “reserved for firefighter costs as stipulated in the ballot measure language.” City staff estimates the total hiring cost will range from $306,629 to $333,249. The council expressed concern over how this full-time fire department implementation will affect the City’s public safety retirement plan, known as PERS coverage. City staff is still looking into this matter. Council member Marilyn Lewis was absent from the meeting. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.