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Commissioners set public hearing for revisions to county fire board and fire department code
Summary
The board held a first reading of Bill 2026‑B to modernize Churchill County codes 2.08 and 2.12 (gender‑neutral language, revised duties, budget process changes) and voted to set a May 7, 2026 public hearing on the ordinance.
The board received a first reading of Bill 2026‑B, an ordinance that would revise Churchill County Code Chapters 2.08 and 2.12 governing the Fire Board and the Fire Department.
Chelsea Sanford, representing the Churchill County District Attorney’s Office, described the changes as largely modernizing and aligning the code with current practice and the city of Fallon’s revisions. Sanford said changes include gender‑neutral language (for example changing “firemen” to “firefighters”), moving some budgetary processes out of code into procedural practice, adjusting duties of the fire board and fire chief regarding budgeting and hiring, and updating the qualifications and responsibilities of the fire marshal.
Sanford told the board that the org chart in the current code would be removed from the ordinance because it no longer reflects how the department is organized in practice. After brief questions from Commissioner Chris about the org chart, the commission set a public hearing for Bill 2026‑B on May 7, 2026.
Why this matters: The ordinance is intended to align the county code with how the fire department currently operates and to make future changes less cumbersome by removing prescriptive organizational charts from the code. Changes to budget and hiring authority could affect operational responsibilities for the fire department and the county.
What’s next: A public hearing will be held on May 7, 2026; any comments received then will be part of the public record before the board considers final adoption.
