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9.d) Staff Report-Resignation and Replacement of Fire Chief � � � � -� �,� ��� � ��� SCANDIA Staff Renort Date of Meeting: May 21, 2013 To: City Council From: Kristina Handt, Administrator Re: Resignation and Replacement of Fire Chief Agenda Item #: 9.d) Background: On April 24, 2013, Chief Jim Finnegan submitted his letter of resignation to Mayor Simonson effective June 1, 2013. Finnegan has said he is willing to stay on as Chief until a successor can be appointed. City Ordinance No. 117 covering the selection of officers of the Fire and Rescue Department states "The chief shall be appointed by the City Council for a term of four years... The City Council may solicit the recommendation(s) of the members of the Fire Department prior to appointment of the chief." Since the Fire and Rescue Department is a department of the City, City of Scandia Personnel Policies also apply. Employee recruitment and selection is covered in section two. Subsection b) Recruitment starts as follows: 1) The City Administrator will manage the hiring process for positions within the City. While the hiring process may be coordinated by staff, the City Council is responsible for the final hiring decision and must approve all hires to City employment. All hires will be made according to qualifications and fitness related to the position being filled. 2) The City Council will determine if a vacancy will be filled through an open recruitment or by promotion, transfer or some other method. This determination will be made on a case-by-case basis. The majority of position vacancies will be filled through an open recruitment process. Issue: How should the City Council proceed in filling the upcoming Fire Chief vacancy? Proposal Details: As stated in the personnel policies, one of the options the Council may use to fill a vacancy is through promotion. I would recommend the Council proceed with this option. In order to allow any current Scandia Fire and Rescue members to express their interest in the position, the Council should post the opening for internal candidate for a period of two weeks (ending on June Sth). The Council would then interview applicants at a special meeting the week of June l Otn Appointment of a new Fire Chief would take place at the June 18th Council meeting with a July 1 effective date. This process (of interviewing internal applicants) is similar to how the vacancy was filled the last time there was an opening in 2009. Fiscal Impact: Per ordinance 03-19-13-04, the hourly pay for the Fire Chief is $14.00. In addition, the Chief receives a monthly stipend of$350. Options: 1) Accept the Resignation of Chief Finnegan effective upon the appointment of a successor and advertise the vacancy to internal applicants for two weeks. 2) Accept the Resignation of Chief Finnegan and determine a different process for filling the vacancy. Recommendation: Option 1.