Safety Board approves replacing deputy chief role with civilian fire inspector, citing $103,000 in annual savings

The Zionsville Safety Board on Sept. 15 approved a departmental reorganization that replaces the vacant deputy chief of fire prevention position with a civilian fire inspector, a move Chief Van Gorder said will reduce the department’s long-term personnel costs by about $103,000 annually in the 2026 budget. "We would be removing the deputy chief of fire prevention position, meaning we would not fill this now vacant position. We would be replacing it with hiring a civilian fire inspector ... and the net savings to that change is a $103,000 to the organization," Van Gorder said during the monthly fire-department update. Van Gorder said the change keeps the fire department administration headcount at 15 but shifts one post from merit to civilian status: "As of today ... there actually before today there are 9 merit positions and 6 civilian. That is what I'm changing ... The net savings, to that change is a $103,000 to the organization and takes us from that 9 merit down to the 8 merit position while still keeping 15 people within the fire department administration." The chief described the pension-cost driver behind the decision, saying typical civilian retirement contributions run about 11% of salary while merit firefighter pension rates under the 1977 fund are set at about 23.3% as established by the Pension Management Oversight Commission. Van Gorder also said the savings cited in the briefing were already built into the proposed 2026 budget and that a further conversion is planned in 2027 when the division chief of fleet services is expected to retire. Board members discussed whether the change affects who does hiring; Van Gorder clarified that civilian hires will follow standard department and HR civilian hiring processes while merit promotions (such as roving officers) are handled by the Merit Commission. The Safety Board voted by voice to approve the personnel reclassification as presented.