Arlington FD (Dutchess) Paid Fire Chief

[RWC130 594]

Arlington FD opts for a Paid Fire Chief

Volunteers disappointed

By Nik Bonopartis

Poughkeepsie Journal

Arlington FD new Fire Chief will be a full-time, Paid Firefighter.

The decision was made Wednesday night when the Arlington Fire District's

board of fire commissioners voted 3-1 in favor of changing the leadership

position from one of a volunteer, elected chief to an appointed, career

chief.

The decision came after fierce opposition from the district's volunteer

firefighters, a shrinking force that fears being phased out after losing

power within the district.

Arlington follows a nationwide trend of a decline in volunteer firefighters

as commutes, longer work hours and two-income families make people less

likely to spend their free time volunteering.

Betty Bomba, chairwoman of the board of commissioners, said the district

needs ''a special person'' to manage the resources, personnel and equipment.

Arlington is a combination department of 67 career -- or paid -- staff and

roughly twice as many volunteers.

''From the research that I've done, the successful combination departments

or districts all had career chiefs,'' Bomba said. ''In order for us to be

successful, this was something we had to do.''

Search for candidates

The district will form a search committee to look for a new chief. The

deputy chief's position, which is a paid post, will be eliminated, and the

current volunteer chief will move into the role of first deputy chief as the

district's second-in-command.

The new chief's position would command a salary of more than $90,000, Bomba

said. She did not have exact figures, though she estimated with benefits the

position would be worth more than $100,000.

Chief John Richardson said he thinks Wednesday night's decision signals a

move ''toward building a bigger paid department.

''With the advent of a paid chief there will be a move toward the driving

out of volunteers, which will result in enormous increases of fire taxes for

residents of the district,'' he said.

Bob Raisch, executive director of the Arlington Business Improvement

District, said the position helps the department run more economically and

improves response times, he said.

Arlington's budget for next year is more than $9.1 million, reflecting the

hiring of more paid firefighters, a growing town population and the nearly

4,500 calls the district responded to last year.

Deputy Chief Jeff Pells, who could face either a promotion to chief or a

step down to lieutenant, said the switch to a career chief is long overdue.

''It's big business, and I think we have to look at it that way,'' he said.

''The fire department needs to operate as a big business, and we need people

who are going to be here on a regular basis.''

Journal writer Erikah Haavie contributed to this report. Nik Bonopartis can

be reached at nbonopar@pough keepsiejournal.com

[Guest alsfirefighter]

=D>

Now if I could only get my transfer there approved by those commish's

[Guest]

:-({|= =D> =D> now that is music to my ears!