Wilson County approves line-item transfer to fund fire inspector position

Wilson County officials approved a line-item transfer to fund a fire inspector position during the meeting. The director told commissioners the money is available within current budget lines and the position would be placed in the fire marshal’s office.

The move responds to workload pressures on a single inspector who has been covering plan reviews and on-site inspections, the director said. “It will help with that ... with the turnaround time,” the director said when describing the expected effect on inspections and plan reviews. The director also said he did not have the job description available at the meeting.

Commissioners pressed staff on whether the transfer creates a new roster slot or simply renames an existing one; the director said the change is a retitling of an empty slot created when two earlier positions were combined, not an increase in total headcount. A commissioner noted the importance of not pulling frontline firefighters or mechanics off response duties to fill the role; staff said that will not happen.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the transfer and another seconded. The motion carried; no roll-call tally was provided during the meeting.

Next steps: staff may post or fill the retitled position and will follow the department’s hiring procedures; no timeline was provided at the meeting.