The city of Flagstaff is looking to try something new when it comes to training its firefighters for leadership positions.
Flagstaff Fire Chief Mark Gaillard will propose a two-year pilot program with Summit Fire District at Tuesday’s Flagstaff City Council meeting. The program would involve the city making one of the Fire Department’s battalion chiefs an acting deputy chief and assigning that person to Summit Fire for day-to-day operations.
In exchange, Summit Fire will pay the city $72,500, which will cover the increase in pay and benefits for each Flagstaff employee who will be promoted into new temporary positions, Gaillard said. Summit will also provide coverage for the Flagstaff Fire Station on Fort Valley Road when that crew is out on a call.
Summit has stations in Doney Park as well as along Highway 180 on the west side of the San Francisco Peaks.
Summit Fire District Board Chairman Howard Nott said he thinks the agreement will be beneficial to both the city and the district.
Summit will get a fire chief, Flagstaff firefighters will get leadership experience and both departments will get experience working together. Fire districts and fire departments have faced a number of difficulties since the economic downturn in 2008, Nott said.
In 2008, Summit lost about 48 percent of its income from property taxes. Then the Arizona Legislature capped fire districts’ tax rates at $3.25 per $100 of assessed value. Then last year, the Legislature tightened the financial screws a bit more by limiting how much property tax assessments can grow a year to a maximum of 5 percent.