The career ladder reaches only so far for Hawaii County firefighters, at least if they don’t want to take a pay cut. Concerns about a lack of interest from rank-and-file firefighters about rising to the rank of battalion chief have Fire Chief Darren Rosario and Acting Human Resources Director Bill Brilhante meeting with Mayor Harry Kim, asking for a classification study to determine whether the position should be moved up a few rungs.
Rosario said Tuesday he supports a move up on the salary scale for battalion chiefs. That’s why he took it to the mayor, he said.
Brilhante is more cautious and called for a study to justify the changes.
“At the end of the day, we want to make sure there’s sufficient evidence” for an upward move, he said, acknowledging the battalion chief level is “kind of the pinch point in the advancement process.”
Battalion chief is a managerial position one rank above captain. Captains and below are covered by the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association union, while the battalion chief position is excluded from collective bargaining.