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Commissioners direct staff to draft plan for full-time mitigation/assistant fire warden position
Summary
The commission asked staff to produce a job blueprint and pay/benefit proposal for a full-time county position to support wildland mitigation and serve as an engine boss; commissioners discussed state match funding and using mitigation funds to support the role.
The Duchesne County Commission heard a proposal April 14 to hire a full-time mitigation specialist/assistant to the state fire warden, a position county staff said would combine wildland mitigation project work with seasonal wildland-fire response duties.
Josh (identified as the emergency management director/County Fire Marshal in the meeting) told commissioners the position would help the county build an in-house mitigation program rather than rely exclusively on contractors. The role would also, when qualified, serve as an engine boss for regional or national incidents and help coordinate mitigation projects that qualify for state match funding.
Discussion addressed funding and pay. Josh and others said the county could use money from the wildland mitigation fund toward the county match; they reported a state-required match figure (discussed in the meeting as $160,000) and noted the state's seasonal assistant positions begin at lower hourly rates (one number cited as $18.18/hr in an earlier state posting) while statewide incident pay for personnel sent to fires can be substantially higher (participants referenced a state incident pay rate cited in the meeting as roughly $33/hr on incidents).
Commissioners moved to proceed: the commission directed staff to develop a job description, pay and benefits proposal, and implementation blueprint and to return to the commission with the plan at the next meeting. The county did not formally finalize hiring or adopt a job description at the April 14 meeting; commissioners emphasized the need to coordinate the position's duties and funding with the state and to confirm certification expectations (for example, engine boss qualifications) before final approval.
Staff said the next step would be a more detailed budget and a draft job posting and that they expected to present the package at the following meeting.
