Fire Chief (name not provided) told the Oct. 27 work session that he wants the city to stop using fixed multi-year terms for district chiefs and captains and instead appoint those officers to remain in post until they step down, retire or are removed for cause.

The chief said lieutenants should remain on two- or three-year terms to preserve a path for firefighters to test officer duties before committing to a permanent post. "I would recommend us moving away from terms and appointing 2 of our 3 officer levels, which would be the district chiefs and the captains," he said.

City staff said the proposal is intended to provide continuity so ongoing projects and initiatives are not disrupted when an officerleaves at the end of a term. Under the proposed structure the department would have two district chiefs, three captains and two lieutenants; the chief said one lieutenant slot (Station 3) would be converted into a captain position.

Councilmembers asked whether removing term limits would block promotion opportunities and whether it could prompt officers to seek captain jobs in neighboring departments. "Does that limit others who want to move up the ranks at all?" a councilmember asked. The chief replied promotions would still occur when a position opened and that disciplinary procedures and reassignment options would remain in place.

The chief proposed using an outside panel of three chiefs from surrounding departments to conduct initial interviews for district-chief candidates and provide objective recommendations before the chiefconducts a second interview. "It gives a truly objective view on that initial interview," he said.

Training and position requirements also drew discussion. The chief said the department removed an internally offered "basic pumps" class and replaced it with a nationally recognized fire apparatus operator certification and retained an annual 12-hour training requirement. He referenced a pending revision of the federal OSHA emergency-response standard and said some course offerings are being updated or are infrequent.

The chief also proposed clarifying the duty-officer job description and creating a senior-firefighter duty-officer rotation to spread on-call responsibility and reduce officer burnout. Under the proposal a senior firefighter who meets duty-officer requirements could serve a week-long on-call rotation, stretching the overall rotation from about six weeks to roughly ten weeks between assignments.

Councilmembers generally expressed support while asking for clarifications on pay differences and review timing. The chief said pay differentials were not on hand at the meeting but that he would provide the compensation details to the council. He also said he favored annual reviews for firefighters and officers to provide opportunities for reassessment.

No formal action or vote was taken; the chief said he would refine the job descriptions and return to council with updated documents.