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Supervisors approve interim fire-chief recruitment to manage startup work for county fire department plan
Summary
The board authorized a job specification and recruitment for a fire chief to serve as project manager for planning a possible county fire department. The position was approved with board direction favoring an interim appointment; the salary range was presented and one minor job-spec formatting change was authorized.
The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on May 6 authorized the county to recruit a fire chief position to lead planning for a potential county fire department. The board approved the job specification and allocated one FTE to a newly created fire department budget unit, and it authorized the interim county administrative officer to proceed with recruitment. The action included board direction that the initial hire be interim to expedite start-up planning and project management.
Interim CAO Henry Ring and ad hoc members said the role is intended to serve as project manager to guide a roughly 200-day planning schedule, coordinate with Cal Fire and the City of San Juan Bautista, and work with consultants on department formation. "The ad hoc committee has recommended that the county take initial steps in hiring a fire chief either as an interim or a permanent basis," Ring said. The board discussed whether the post should be interim or a multi-year contract; a majority favored interim appointment with the option to recruit for permanent placement later.
The staff report presented a salary range for the position. The item as discussed referenced an approximate salary range in the staff report of roughly $178,000 to $236,406.35 annually; staff said they would refine and format the job specification with HR and return with any necessary technical edits. Board members asked that the recruitment materials be explicit that the interim appointment could be followed by a recruitment for a permanent chief, and said the interim should be able to start quickly to manage the planning process.
After public comment urging caution, the board voted unanimously to authorize the job specification and recruitment approach and delegated authority to the CAO to finalize formatting changes and proceed with an interim recruitment. Supervisors said the interim chief would work with consultants and the ad hoc committee, and that any permanent appointment would be considered later by the board.
