Fire district tells Sunset council it plans an emergency‑management director for cities
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Summary
The fire-district chief asked Sunset City for support of a district‑funded emergency‑management director position to serve multiple cities; the board has put the idea in a tentative budget and staff will consider next steps.
The fire‑district chief told the council Tuesday that the district is proposing to hire an emergency‑management director to serve participating cities, and asked Sunset City to be supportive if the district board approves funding.
The chief (speaker 11) said several cities had earlier explored district‑provided emergency‑management services and that the district’s board now has a tentative budget line for the position after wage studies and planning. He said the district’s model would avoid repeated memos of understanding and create a single district employee to coordinate emergency planning, grant writing and incident response guidance for member cities.
"You'll probably have and I can guarantee you, you're gonna have better emergency management than you've ever had," the chief said, framing the position as a professional role (not a part‑time firefighter assignment) that would run at an administrative level and work with local liaisons and city managers.
Council members asked clarifying questions about the role’s duties, FEMA/state expectations and how the district would fund the position. The chief said the board would make the final decision; the district has put the position in its tentative budget and will continue the discussion with member cities and city managers.
No formal municipal action was taken Tuesday; the item was presented for discussion and a possible future council decision regarding support for the district approach.