Carthage council restores battalion chief posts, revises fire department job descriptions

The Carthage City Council approved updates to the fire department’s organizational structure that add battalion chief positions and revise related job descriptions.

The council’s insurance, audit and claims committee and the public safety committee reviewed the proposal. Committee members said reinstating battalion chiefs — a post phased out in about 2009 — will divide supervisory duties previously handled by higher paid salaried chiefs and by hourly personnel, potentially cutting overtime.

During discussion, a committee member said the change "gives us more flexibility" because the city currently must have a command-level officer at most non-medical scenes. Council members also said the proposal combines the deputy chief and the fire marshal roles and redistributes tasks among the training chief, deputy chief and battalion chiefs.

The council voted to approve revised job descriptions for several positions: taxi driver (licensing and hours clarified), deputy fire chief, fire training chief (title update) and battalion chief. Committee reports said the change is projected to produce an initial estimated annual savings around $37,000 by reducing overtime; committee members cautioned long-term savings may vary.

Council recorded motions to approve each job description and the change to the command structure. Implementation steps described by fire leadership include testing and evaluations to put personnel in the new roles with an aim to have the structure in place by July 1 to align with the new budget.