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State Fire Academy asks for salary progressions, vehicles and infrastructure repairs
Summary
State Fire Academy Director Kelly Elliott told the subcommittee the academy needs recurring salary progressions, an added maintenance position, four vehicles, a full water‑system replacement and ongoing costs for a registration and learning management system.
Kelly Elliott, executive director of the State Fire Academy, told the Appropriations Subcommittee the academy seeks recurring funding to stay competitive for instructors and to maintain a 100‑acre campus that conducts training statewide.
Elliott said the academy operates approximately 62 positions across a campus that includes dormitories, classrooms, training props and its own water system. She told the committee the academy has a high demand for training and that recruiting and retaining instructors is “a big ask” because competing local departments often pay more. Elliott said about half of the instructional staff are eligible for retirement and the academy currently has four or five vacancies that it is trying to fill.
Budget items explained to the committee included: - Salary progressions and fringe: Elliott described a recurring personnel funding need to make the academy competitive with local fire departments. She said one recurring component requested was “about $293,000” to reach competitive progression levels and that total requested progressions and fringe above the recommendation sum to roughly $554,946. - Contractual/software: The academy has implemented a registration and learning management system; staff described a recurring software service cost of about $180,879 for the coming year in addition to prior implementation costs the academy funded in the previous year. - Vehicles and equipment: The academy requested four replacement vehicles. Elliott said the current fleet’s average age is 17 years with an average of 113,000 miles and that four vehicles have over 200,000 miles. The academy also requested a replacement backhoe/excavator (about 30 years old) used for campus maintenance and props operations. - Water system replacement: The academy asked for a full replacement of its campus water loop and related pumps to bring lines into compliance; staff said last year’s request covered only above‑ground lines and that this year’s comprehensive replacement would be larger (the full‑replacement request is about $350,000 more than the prior partial request).
Elliott said the academy implemented the new registration system late last year and is moving invoicing and transcripts into that system to reduce manual processes. She emphasized the academy’s national reputation and the pipeline of requests for training from municipalities and industry.
Committee members asked for additional vehicle age/mileage details and indicated they would prioritize needs during the budget process. No formal action or vote was taken during the hearing.
