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Committee recommends fire‑department reorganization, including new division‑chief rank
Summary
The committee backed a proposed reorganization to create division chief positions within the bargaining unit and elevate the EMS officer to a chief‑level role; staff estimated a roughly $56,000 first‑year implementation cost and said the change responds to several near‑term vacancies.
The Coeur d'Alene General Services Committee on Jan. 12 voted to recommend that the City Council approve a reorganization of fire‑department staffing and Amendment No. 1 to the fire union collective bargaining agreement.
Fire Chief Tom Greif presented the proposal, saying it would establish a division chief rank (bringing the EMS officer to a chief level and converting current deputy chief roles into division chiefs under the bargaining unit) while keeping senior leadership — fire chief and assistant fire chief — as exempt positions. Greif said the change is driven by a cluster of vacancies and upcoming retirements and is intended to reduce compression, create a sustainable command structure and provide a promotion pathway for line personnel.
Greif told the committee the proposal does not add new positions but would change representation: "with the new proposed model, you would have 3 exempts and 4 positions that would be within the represented or collective bargaining unit moving forward." Staff cited a first‑year implementation cost of about $56,000. Council members asked for a written multi‑year forecast of costs and staff said future increases would depend on merit steps and promotions and may require a budget amendment.
On discipline and personnel processes, the chief said serious personnel matters would be handled in administration with HR, legal and the union president involved: "Anything above a letter of expectation comes to us right now in admin ... we always bring the union president in on it as well as HR and legal." Union President Gabe Eckert and Finance Director Melissa Tosi were present during the discussion.
A council member moved to recommend approval of the reorganization and the amendment to the union agreement; the committee approved the recommendation by voice vote. The recommendation will be placed on the full council agenda for final action, accompanied by the requested financial forecast and additional implementation detail.
The committee record does not include a roll‑call tally. The committee and staff discussed mitigation of pay compression, internal recruitment pathways, and the need to clarify the separation of duties between represented division chiefs and exempt administrators before council consideration.
