Orland FPD readies pact offer for new fire chief
By Mike Nolan mnolan@southtownstar.com May 22, 2012 9:48PM
Updated: July 2, 2012 9:53AM
The Orland Fire Protection District is preparing to offer a contract to its finalist for the fire chief’s job, but officials won’t identify the person until he has accepted the offer.
District trustees on Tuesday voted 4 to 0, with one trustee absent, to make the offer to the candidate. He has been told the job is his for the taking, but Jim Hickey, fire district board president, wouldn’t give any details, saying some aspects of the contract offer could still be subject to negotiation.
Hickey did say the district is offering a three-year contract, and that, if it’s accepted, he hoped the new chief would be sworn in by the middle of June.
District officials said more than 40 people applied for the job, as the district conducted a nationwide search to find a permanent replacement for Bryant Krizik, who retired as chief last summer after being placed on administrative leave in late May. Battalion Chief Raymond Kay has been serving as acting chief and was among the candidates for the job.
Hickey wouldn’t say what fire department the finalist works for or even identify the state he lives in.
Last month, district trustees interviewed three finalists for the job and then contacted their consensus pick. But Hickey said that until the candidate accepts the offer, it’s “not a legal and binding contract.”
He said that during interviews, the district board didn’t discuss a salary for the chief position. Krizik’s contract at the time he was placed on leave paid him $144,000 annually.
