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Board debates $12,000 climate/culture study for fire and rescue amid privacy concerns
Summary
County staff proposed a $12,000 workplace climate study of the fire and rescue department; some supervisors and members of the public supported an independent study of retention issues, while at least one supervisor objected to sharing his recorded conversations with former employees and questioned limiting the study to a single department.
County staff presented a proposal from the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia’s Virginia Institute of Government to study workplace climate and retention in the King George Fire and Rescue Department at a proposed fee of $12,000.
The proposed scope includes an introductory meeting, a confidential survey refined with county staff, focus groups, data analysis and a final presentation of findings and recommendations. County administration said the effort is limited to fire and rescue because supervisors identified unusually high turnover there and that an independent third party was needed to obtain candid feedback.
Discussion among supervisors was divided. One supervisor argued the county administrator should not conduct internal interviews and that an external academic team is preferable to obtain honest responses. Another supervisor, however, said he had recorded private conversations with departing firefighters and refused to provide those recordings to the study team. "No. I will not," he said when asked to share his recordings, and later explained he had collected them confidentially to protect sources.
Public commenters and other supervisors noted high turnover is a national phenomenon in fire and EMS and urged the county to proceed with a study to identify actionable fixes. Critics asked whether the study should examine other departments, not only fire and rescue. Board members debated whether staff could perform a lower-cost internal review but some said internal staff lack the independence needed to get truthful answers.
The county administrator said the proposed study would be presented to the board for further action on Dec. 17.
What happens next: Board members will decide whether to authorize the Weldon Cooper Center proposal, revise its scope, or pursue alternative options at the next meeting; staff will refine the scope and address confidentiality safeguards.
