Santa Fe committee approves reclassification of two assistant fire chief positions to at‑will

The Santa Fe Quality of Life Committee voted to reclassify two assistant fire chief positions from their current employment status to at‑will executive positions, a change sponsors said will align fire leadership with similar police department classifications.

Supporters said the reclassification gives the fire chief greater flexibility in staffing executive posts and offers management benefits that current ranks lack. Assistant Chief Rizzo, who was present for questions, described personnel and leave implications, saying the at‑will classification "allows the chief of the department to be able to choose his executive staff more effectively and to deal with any potential issues" and that the status removes the cap on annual leave rollover and allows unused leave to be sold back at the end of a career.

Committee members pressed staff on whether the at‑will change is applied elsewhere in city government and what it means for employees. Councilor Cassett asked about advantages and disadvantages for individuals promoted into exempt or at‑will roles; Rizzo said many department executives have no cap on rollover under at‑will status, whereas moving from a union position into management can cause large amounts of accrued leave to be wiped out. "When chief Ouderkirk promoted into assistant chief, he lost, like, 700 hours of vacation at the end of the year," Rizzo said, describing how the current caps have impacted firefighters moving into executive ranks.

Members also asked whether promotion pathways and rank‑based decisions (for example, battalion chief advancing to assistant chief) would change. Staff replied that promotion procedures would remain unchanged and the personnel classification would not alter the department's promotion processes.

After discussion the committee moved to approve the reclassification and conducted a roll call vote; the motion passed with all members present voting to approve. The item will proceed according to city personnel procedures for implementing classification changes.

Next steps: staff will implement the classification change and update affected employees and relevant human resources procedures.