The city of Davis has launched a national search for a new fire chief in anticipation of the termination of its shared management agreement with the UC Davis Fire Department.
An advertisement recently posted by Bob Murray & Associates, a Roseville-based executive recruitment firm, outlines the city’s pursuit of “a creative, entrepreneurial and seasoned leader to serve as its new Fire Chief.”
“He or she will be an expansive and forward thinker, diplomatic and fair in dealings with others, and serve as a mentor to all staff,” the ad says. “The ideal candidate will practice transparency and an open-door policy and have a successful track record of consensus building. A chief that engages the community and understands and values the small-town culture of Davis will be ideal.”
Candidates have until April 14 to apply for the position, the annual salary for which ranges from $134,832 to $163,884, depending on qualifications.
“The situation provides me with an opportunity to hire a fire chief who will be solely focused on running the city of Davis Fire Department. And I’m confident we will attract a strong field of candidates via a thorough search process,” City Manager Dirk Brazil said Monday. “Ideally, we will have a new chief in place by the beginning of summer.”
Meanwhile, the Davis City Council approved a resolution Tuesday that terminates the partnership agreement effective May 1, eight months sooner than originally planned.
UCD officials announced on Feb. 1 it would withdraw from the shared management agreement the departments entered into as a cost-savings measure on Jan. 1, 2014. The university cited “challenges” in one leader managing two fire departments with different cultures, as well as complications in CalPERS retirement contributions for shared employees, as key factors in its decision.
The two agencies will continue to provide aid to one another during major incidents, officials said.
Although the agreement initially was to end Dec. 31, “both parties believe it is in the best interests of all involved to terminate the agreement sooner,” Brazil wrote in a staff report accompanying the resolution. “Termination by May 1 will allow the city to hire its own fire chief at or close to the beginning of the fiscal year and will provide a degree of certainty for each jurisdiction moving forward.”
The termination is expected to result in $108,000 in costs to the city, which now must fully fund its own fire chief and three division chiefs, according to Brazil.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene