Fraser council approves captain assessment, debates creating sergeant fire‑marshal role

Fraser City Council voted 4–3 on Feb. 13 to hire EMCO for an assessment‑center style promotional test to create a ranked list for a future captain vacancy, and spent more than an hour debating whether to make the city’s vacant fire marshal post a sergeant‑level position.

The testing approval was advanced so the department can complete succession planning before Captain Bispie’s anticipated retirement later this year. City officials said the testing will produce an eligibility list and allow managers to plan training and on‑the‑job transition for the next captain.

The vote followed testimony from Fraser Department of Public Safety leadership describing current supervision gaps on the fire side and the department’s near‑term personnel changes. Captain Greg Gillis said the fire division lacks a steady, proximate supervisor for firefighters and paramedics and that the city has been using interim arrangements since attrition removed a dedicated fire marshal. Gillis described the sergeant role the department seeks as both the code‑enforcement fire marshal and the immediate supervisor of the fire division staff.

Council members pressed for budget details before converting a Public Safety Officer (PSO) slot into a sergeant. Council member Baranski and others asked for numbers showing the net annual cost and whether inspection fees and other revenues would offset part of the expense. City staff provided contract figures that would make a permanent sergeant position cost roughly $143,000 in year one under the sergeant pay scale; staff and council clarified that, if the city instead placed a current PSO in the role, the net new cost would be only the difference between PSO top pay and sergeant pay.

Council debate also covered alternatives: hiring a non‑sworn contract marshal, using a PSO in the role, or temporarily keeping current senior staff performing marshal duties. Several councilors urged moving the decision into the city budget process so figures and tradeoffs can be evaluated; others argued the department’s staffing and supervision shortfalls are urgent. Mayor Pro Tem Sutherland said she supported delaying formal creation of a sergeant post until the budget cycle, while several council members and the motion proponent said they wanted to preserve the city’s ability to promote and train now.

On the narrower procedural request, council approved the EMCO assessment center to create a captain’s list (authorized expenditure $9,275) and adopted related succession steps to promote from that list when a vacancy occurs. The council vote to fund the testing passed 4–3. The council separately discussed, but did not finalize, an immediate promotion to a sergeant fire marshal; staff were directed to include a clearer net‑cost estimate and revenue offsets in the upcoming budget cycle for formal consideration.

What changed: Council authorized an external assessment center to generate an official ranked list for captain promotions and directed staff to report back with budget figures for a sergeant‑level fire marshal. The council did not immediately create or fund the sergeant fire marshal post.

Context: Fraser has been operating without a dedicated fire marshal for several years. Council and staff said the issue affects supervision, training continuity and fire code enforcement. Staff emphasized the department’s preference for a sworn sergeant due to enforcement authority and continuity of supervision.

Next steps: City staff will include detailed cost and revenue scenarios for the proposed sergeant fire marshal in the city manager’s upcoming budget materials; the captain promotion testing will proceed with EMCO and produce a promotion list once testing is complete.