County recommends new division chief for Fire/EMS training and wildfire prevention; town flags recurring cost

County staff recommended adding a division chief responsible for training and wildfire prevention in the Fire/EMS budget for FY27, telling joint boards the role would consolidate wildfire responsibilities, expand training for more than 100 personnel and support revenue-generating training for partner agencies.

"This position would consolidate the wildfire program responsibilities that are currently covered across multiple people into one point of responsibility for wildfire response," Fire Chief Mike Moyer said. Chief Moyer estimated about 45% of the new position's cost could be offset by revenue from fee-for-service training and regional deployments.

County administrator Jodi Pond described the position as a "very high priority" given the community's wildland-urban interface exposure. Pond urged commissioners to consider a capital reserve approach as well: smoothing large apparatus purchases by setting aside funds over multiple years rather than bringing large one-year requests to the boards.

Town staff and council members said they were sympathetic to the public-safety rationale but cautious about adding recurring personnel costs while the town seeks to restrain operating growth. "On the town side, the recommendation not to add recurring FTEs is not a reflection on the position but on our strategic budgeting directive," the town manager said.

Commissioners and town councilors debated alternatives, including short-term funding from external partners, grants, the fire foundation or state resources, and agreed to schedule further discussion after the joint presentations. No final funding decision was recorded on April 28.

The transcript records repeated appeals from county commissioners and fire leadership about increasing wildfire risk and the long-term costs of deferred apparatus replacement; members of both bodies said they wanted more information before committing to the recurring cost in the FY27 budget.