Posts Tagged Rutland-Dundee Chief Richard Thomas

West Dundee Fire Department news

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

West Dundee is searching for a new fire chief after a potential deal to share the leadership position with a neighboring entity fell through. The village board recently approved a $19,250 contract with GovHR USA to help find a replacement for Chief Randy Freise when he retires in the next two to three months. Initiating the recruitment process is a change of plans for West Dundee officials, who had been working toward a joint fire management services agreement with the Rutland-Dundee Fire Protection District.

The intent was to have Rutland-Dundee Chief Richard Thomas take over the leadership of both departments after Freise’s departure. He announced his retirement in August 2018, but agreed to stay on until negotiations were finalized. But before a deal was reached, Rutland-Dundee officials informed West Dundee in late September that they were no longer interested in pursuing the shared chief option — a decision made largely out of concern that Thomas would be spread too thin.

The recruitment process is expected to take 60 to 90 days. It will include an initial review of applications and a first round of interviews before narrowing the pool to three or four finalists. The final candidates would then be interviewed by village staff members and trustees. The job posting lists the position’s annual salary at $102,000 to $124,000, depending on qualifications.

Starting in 2017, Freise also spent two years overseeing both West Dundee and the East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District as part of their ongoing consolidation efforts. East Dundee fire board members eventually decided to terminate the agreement for budgetary reasons.

The two departments, as well as Rutland-Dundee and Carpentersville, have taken strides the past several years to share resources, unify training programs and standardize operations.

thanks Ron

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East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District news

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

On Friday, the East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District Board voted to give 90 days notice of its intent to opt out of the agreement approved in 2016 which had West Dundee Fire Chief Randy Freise taking the helm of both departments.

At the time, both East and West Dundee officials heralded the intergovernmental agreement as taking another great step toward a functional consolidation.

Freise began overseeing both entities Jan. 1, 2017. The agreement called for the cost of the chief position to be shared equally by each village, including salary and benefits. In terms of hierarchy, the East Dundee Fire Protection District’s deputy chief began reporting to Freise, and Freise reported to both the West Dundee village manager and the East Dundee Fire District Board. Freise recently announced his intent to retire in August of 2019.

After approving Freise’s leadership over both departments, East and West Dundee also agreed to share the services of its fire prevention officer. Other cost-saving opportunities as a result of the joint management have included shared training, programs, vehicles and apparatus.

Mark Guth, president of the East Dundee Fire Protection District, said Friday’s decision came down to terminating the agreement or terminating one of the department’s full-time personnel.

“It costs us $80,000 a year for the shared chief. It’s running us into a $100,000 deficit,” Guth said. “It’s mandated that we operate on a balanced budget.”

“We don’t have the money,” added Trustee John Bonkoski. “Randy’s done a great job. We know it’s going to be a step in the wrong direction, but we have to look at our taxpayers. We can’t afford it. That’s the bottom line.”

“My concern for the district and the department is that this is going to be a big step backward,” Freise said. “I think we’ve accomplished a lot these last two years. A lot of things aren’t seen behind the scenes that we’ve accomplished. Fire prevention has improved by leaps and bounds. Every agreement we’ve made has been a success. We’ve been building on small victories and working toward a functional consolidation. All these years we’ve tried to improve service by working together I feel today has taken a big step backward.”

The concept would continue through an intergovernmental relationship expanded to include the Rutland-Dundee Fire Protection District as well as the Village of West Dundee to share and coordinate the overall administration, management and clerical support for all employees responsible for fire services under one management team.

Rutland-Dundee Chief Richard Thomas said in a letter to the West Dundee village manager dated Sept. 25 that Rutland fire trustees recently discussed at great length the concept of joint fire management services.

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