7.6. SR 04-06-2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Elk ----, River REQUEST FOR ACTION To Item Number Ci Council ~•~• Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Administration A ri16, 2009 Lori ohnson, Ci Administratox Item Description Reviewed by Fire Chief Retirement, Appointment of Interim Chief, Authorize Recruitment Process to Fill Position Reviewed by Action Requested Discuss appointment of interim fire chief and consider recruitment process to fill fire chief position. Background/Discussion Fire Chief Bruce West has given written notification to the City of his intent to retire from the fire service as the City's fire chief effective Apri124, 2009. Chief West has been the City's fire chief since October, 1994. He was the City's first full-tune fire chief, and it's an understatement to say that he has accomplished a great deal as fire chief in the past 14'/z years. The City has a very professional and excellent fire department due in large part to Chief West's outstanding leadership. A formal presentation to Chief West to recognize him for his many accomplishments and to wish him well in his new position with the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is planned for the Apri120 City Council meeting. There are, however, two items related to his retirement to address at this meeting. First, because this is a very important position to emergency response in the City, an interim chief should be appointed to lead the department and to serve as the City's top emergency management official. Both Chief West and I recommend that Fire Marshal Cliff Anderson be appointed as interim fire chief effective April 24 until this position is filled. Mr. Anderson currently serves as the paid on call Assistant Fire Chief and is Deputy Emergency Management Director. If the Council concurs, a .recommendation for pay during the interim appointment wilt be considered at the April 20 meeting. The second related matter is determining when and how to fill the position. I recommend that we begin the process to fill this position now. I further recommend that the position be advertised and that any internal candidates apply through the application process. This will ensure that if an internal candidate is selected as the next fire chief, he will have the full support of the Council. The position opening is proposed to be advertised through the League of Minnesota Cities' website, Star Neaur, the City's website and cable channel, and fire chief and emergency management association websites and periodicals. Lauren Wipper, Human Resources Representative and I are in the process of developing recruitment and application materials. A draft of those materials is attached for your review. The draft is based on the current fire department organizational structure and fire chief position description as previously approved by the City Council. At this time, staff is not recommending any major changes in either the organizational structure or the position description. If the Council has any comments or changes, those will be incorporated into the final document. Additionally, as you know, one of the most important parts of a recruitment process is conducting interviews. On several occasions in the past for department head S:ACouncil\I_.ori\2009\Fire Chief hiring process 04 OG 09.doc