Snoqualmie Fire Department presents 2025–2030 strategic plan; committee to schedule full council presentation

Chief Bailey presented the Snoqualmie Fire Department’s 2025–2030 strategic plan to the Public Safety Committee and said the plan was developed with community workshops and a consultant-led departmental retreat.

“The city of Snoqualmie Fire Department is committed to providing superior community based preparedness and emergency services in a timely and professional manner,” Chief Bailey said when reciting the department’s mission, which the group elected to keep unchanged.

Bailey described a process that began with a community meeting in July, followed by a three-day staff and consultant workshop in October. The committee received a strategic-plan document with raw community comments, a mission and values statement, and a separate implementation guide that breaks objectives into tasks and suggested timelines.

The plan sets four overarching goals: attract and retain qualified staff; enhance wildland training and preparedness; acquire and maintain physical resources to meet growth and national standards; and improve relations with external stakeholders through communication and feedback.

Bailey told the committee the implementation guide is intended to be a living document. The department will integrate objectives into regular operations, review progress at monthly officer meetings, report quarterly as part of accreditation reporting, and revisit the plan annually to adjust priorities.

Committee members asked about workload and timelines. Council member Catherine Cotton noted the timelines are intended as planning guidelines rather than fixed deadlines; Bailey said the suggested durations assume work begins when the objective is activated and that items will be prioritized against operational demands.

Council member Kara Christensen asked about an objective to incentivize an acting-officer program; Bailey said the intent is to “build that bench” by training more acting officers so the department has flexibility and can reduce overtime when a scheduled officer is absent.

Committee members requested a fuller presentation to the entire council and Bailey said he could provide a condensed slide set that lists the strategic objectives without all underlying bullets. The committee directed staff to place a full presentation on a future council public-safety agenda and to forward the strategic plan package for council consideration.