The Scott County Fiscal Court voted to approve a fire‑department reorganization on Aug. 8 that removes the department’s second‑level company officer rank (the current captain tier) and retitles the first‑level company officer (currently lieutenant) as “captain.” The measure passed by roll call; the court recorded the final vote as 5–3.

Lieutenant Zach Anderson spoke during the public‑comment period opposing the change and described the personnel and pay impact for members who had been on the promotional list. "This is not simply emerging of the 2 leadership positions into 1 title, but effectively eliminates a large promotional opportunity and salary increase in our department," Anderson said. He said he had followed grievance procedures and asked that if the court approved the consolidation the members already on the captain promotional list be advanced to the existing captain pay rate.

Fire leadership briefed the court before the vote. Chief Baker described the change as an organizational restructuring that would not reduce pay for the three current captains: "There'll be no reduction in pay for the 3 current captains. They'll keep the pay that they make right now. Simply an organizational restructuring." The chief and other department leaders said the reorganization aligns the department with common structures in similarly sized departments and argued it maintains company‑level supervision while standardizing rank nomenclature.

Under the proposal the three current captains would keep their pay. The court adopted a 75¢ per hour raise for first‑level company officers who meet minimum criteria and choose to accept the additional duty of serving as backup to a battalion chief; the increase phases in as individuals meet training and time‑in‑grade standards. Department leaders said the criteria include at least two years’ experience as a company officer, 48 hours of ride time with a battalion chief and completion of an in‑house officer‑development class.

Magistrates and department members debated several issues at length: whether consolidation would reduce promotional chances for firefighters, whether the change was being made too close to the fiscal budgeting process and whether training and ride‑time standards were sufficiently clear. The court’s discussion recognized those concerns and directed staff to provide a further financial analysis; presiding officials said they would return with additional data to inform future pay considerations.

Clerk Hamilton read the roll call as the motion passed. The court recorded the motion as carried with a 5–3 tally and directed county staff and fire leadership to work on implementation details and continue discussions about pay progression for long‑tenured personnel. The court also asked legal and department staff to clarify how the existing promotional lists interact with the new policy.