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| I was contacted by one of the applicants for fire chief who was not selected. He sent me a multi-page, stream of consciousness conglomeration of ideas, thoughts, opinions, and internet research data...some of it very interesting |
I received an interesting email late yesterday evening from one of the more than 60 persons who applied to be the next ECFR Chief. This individual was not selected as a finalist-but nonetheless he wanted to offer some thoughts, opinions, and ideas. He wanted to leave his "2-cents" worth with me-so far as I could tell.
Not unlike an exit interview-this pre-hire stream of consciousness conglomeration of ideas put to paper that I received does have some useful stuff. Although neither I nor my counterparts on the board have any voice in who gets selected ultimately in this position--it is a window into at least one applicant's thoughts as he moved through the application process.
This individual forwarded pages and pages of bullet points, data he had researched, comments he had read online about the department, information he had compiled about our department, and other tidbits of information he felt was important to pass along.
I responded to him, and I thanked him for his interest in the position and for his thoughts and ideas--some of which I believe have merit, some of which we are already working toward, most of which I was already aware--- and some of which I do not believe would be supported by the board.
Nevertheless---there are some nuggets in his email--which I have saved exactly as he sent it-unedited- here.
(I did remove his name, email and phone number from this document though.)
From his email:
---"Staffing Issues:
Career Staff:
4 comments:
One thing is certain, HR did a good job in not considering this candidate for the position.
Anonymous Yes I could see why you might think this-------but some of what he has offered has some merit I believe.
The guy is not local and his information is from a bad source. He is listing apparatus from mid 2000s and many have been gone for years. he seems to have dug up an archive that shows all the trucks a station has had assigned to it since the recording started. Many of these trucks are no longer in service. These numbers are not accurate and once again showcase how bad information can influence those in charge so easily, if those in charge do not do their own research or have no knowledge of how things work.
We don't have a budget to support our current roster. No one wants to work here for 10.79, we can't hire people we have many vacancies and more people are leaving every month. Do you think adding a whole shift of people is even worth looking into?
Majority of our professional firemen are former volunteers and many have had their standards paid for by the county. This is a good thing and should be continued.
It is interesting that he spent time on this, which is to his credit. Of course, not being from here, he's off on some numbers, but he can learn. I think an outsider is the best move. No personal loyalties, no agenda, can shape the organization from a better perspective. Let's face it, the guys here know they have a great deal with overtime. If they can get raises with the same overtime schedule, they will make much more than the average citizen (past 6-figures, a llt are there noww)with a much better retirement. You are going to have to make changes, spend more and get overtime in order. They will push back on the loss of overtime. Some personnel need to be fired, as they are too bitter and will not work with the board at all in any way. Once they are gone, things will get better and we can build a professional team that values the citizens they serve, are happy with their pay and benefits and treat volunteers with respect.
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