Bradley County mayor reallocates vacancy savings to boost fire-department pay, asks committee to revisit dispatch zone maps

Mayor Davis told the Bradley County Commission that the county has converted savings from vacant fire-department positions into across-the-board pay increases and that the changes went into effect Dec. 1 and will appear on this week’s payroll.

"A total savings of approximately $76,000," Davis said, was identified after reviewing vacancy timing, and he said that money was redistributed to raise starting and mid-level firefighter salaries. He said the adjustments were made within the existing budget and therefore did not require a commission vote.

Commissioners pressed the mayor for details about recruitment and timing. Davis said the county is taking applications and plans a rookie school beginning in February; he said the county’s goal is to be fully staffed under the new pay structure by June 30.

The mayor also raised public-safety dispatching as a separate concern. He said the county’s fire-tax urban-fringe committee had discussed allowing the closest station to be "toned out" (dispatched) even when that station sits across jurisdictional lines. Citing examples near Fish Creek and Menace Road, Davis warned the current practice—where annexation lines sometimes route calls to a station that is farther away—could delay response and asked staff to reconvene the committee to produce a recommendation.

Commissioners voiced support for mapping and data to guide any change: one commissioner asked the county GIS team to quantify proximity and response areas so the committee can make an evidence-based recommendation for 9-1-1 tone-out settings.

The commission did not take a formal vote on pay policy or dispatch changes at the meeting; the mayor characterized the salary adjustments as reallocations within the adopted budget and said any further changes would have to await the next budget cycle.