District News Commisioner Articles

Fire Commissioners Column……….

Bill Madison 

You may have seen that the fire district is searching for a new fire commissioner to fill the remainder of Dean Westerman’s term.  Dean has moved out of the fire district and is therefore no longer eligible to serve as one of the three fire commissioners.  According to State laws, we must now appoint someone to serve as a commissioner until November 2011.  At that time the appointed commissioner will need to run in the general election to be able to continue to serve the remainder of commissioner Westerman’s term that will expire in 2015.  Fire commissioners serve six year terms and one is elected or re-elected every other year in the odd year general elections. 

Fire commissioners are the governing body of the fire district and are responsible for general administrative functions.  We do the budget and manage the finances for the district.  We provide strategic planning and are involved in hiring and administrative personnel decisions.  Commissioners establish policies and procedures and determine the levels of service that the fire district will provide.  Commissioners are available to answer questions from the public and to support activities that keep people informed about the fire district.  All our meetings are held in an open, public forum and all decisions are by a majority vote.

Our goal is to appoint someone who is civic minded and is interested in improving how we provide emergency services to the residents of the fire district.  Since most of what we do is administrative in nature, someone with management experience would be beneficial.  A background in the fire service or prior experience as a firefighter is not a requirement for a commissioner.  We occasionally have special meetings but generally the commissioners meet on the first and third Monday’s of each month.  Meetings are at 7 PM.  Commissioners are compensated $104 for each meeting they attend. 

If you think you might be interested in helping us manage the fire district as a commissioner, send us a letter explaining your interest, ideas, goals and a copy or your resume.  Letters are due not later than September 20th.  We plan to schedule interviews sometime in October.  If you have questions, I’d be happy to try and answer them.  You can reach me at home, 466-1362 or by email at wmadison@scfpd1.com.  Letters should be sent to:

Commissioner Search

Stevens County Fire Protection District #1

4532 Railroad Ave.  P.O. Box 246

Clayton, WA 99110

You’ve probably seen the signs on some of the district fire stations “VOLUNTEERS NEEDED”.  We are searching for responsible individuals to become firefighters and EMTs.  If you think you might be interested please call us at 262-9660 for information.

Give us your opinion.  If you prefer, you may E-Mail the fire chief or any of the commissioners and let us know your thoughts at www.scfpd1.com.  Click on “contacts” and select the person you would like to contact.

Bill Madison, fire commissioner