South Beloit Council OKs Illinois Fire Chiefs search, hires part-time fire compliance officer

The South Beloit City Council on Monday authorized the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association to conduct the city's search for a new fire chief and approved hiring a part-time administrative compliance officer for the fire department. The council amended the agreement so the cost would not exceed $14,500 and approved the Miller hire at $22 an hour.

Council members said the outside search will bring an objective, professional process after a period of contentious debate over the fire department. The city's proposal from the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association estimated an all-in cost of about $14,500, with advertised job posting, resume review and potential assessment-center fees; interviews were listed separately at roughly $3,700 to $5,000 each.

A council member supporting the contract said, “I don't want to see us cut any corners on any of this. If it costs us $14,000, it costs us $14,000.” The council amended the resolution to cap the search at $14,500 and then approved the amended resolution by roll call vote (passed). A council member suggested asking the association to trim duplicated stakeholder interviews because the association had recently conducted a related study in South Beloit; council staff said they would ask the question but did not want to delay moving forward.

The council also approved hiring Nick Miller as a part-time administrative compliance officer for the fire department at $22 per hour. City staff described the position as intended to serve as a day-to-day administrative liaison between the City of South Beloit and the Town of Beloit under the existing staffing agreement, to manage GEMT (ground emergency medical transport) funding work, handle frequent information and public records requests, and maintain city policy and records that staff said had been difficult to keep current.

Public commenters urged the council to address problems inside the fire department and criticized negative public commentary that, they said, helped make the workplace toxic. Resident Joshua Lloyd said the department had suffered problems with staffing and medication handling in the past and urged the council to act. Resident Ralph Skalak urged a committee-based hiring approach and questioned the qualifications of one proposed candidate; council members responded that the association's process brings professionals to screen candidates and will produce a short list for council interviews.

City staff said the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association's process typically screens applicants broadly and then recommends two to three finalists for local interviews; the council will interview final candidates before selecting a chief. The council also discussed ensuring transparency and asked staff to check whether parts of the association's proposed outreach overlapped with recent local study work to avoid duplicate costs.

The council did not set a hiring timetable in the meeting record; staff said the association would post the position and proceed with recruitment per its standard process.