Budget Cuts Fire Chief’s Stipend

WAITSBURG - With the City of Waitsburg's proposed 2012 budget cutting half of Fire Chief Jim Callahan's stipend, Columbia County Fire District 2 will step up to bridge the gap.

Ci ty Manage r Randy Hinchliffe presented the council with the proposed 2012 budget on Nov. 16 that eliminated the chief's $250 monthly stipend from the city. For the past two years, the city had paid Callahan $250 a month and the fire district matched that amount, giving him $500 a month for his work.

The fire district's boundaries do not include the City of Waitsburg, but the Waitsburg Fire Department and the district have a mutual aid agreement for fire calls, Hinchliffe said.

Callahan, who has been chief about three years, began receiving payment just two years ago because there is so much work involved, said Scott Johnson, a commissioner for the fire district.

"There's so much paperwork," Johnson said.

He said the chief has to keep up with federal regulations, state regulations and county regulations and is certified by different entities. In addition to all of this, the chief has to keep track of all of the trucks and volunteers, Johnson said.

Callahan puts in about 10 to 20 hours a week just for paperwork and maintaining the fire department's equipment, Johnson said.

To notify the district that the city's proposed budget would eliminate its portion of the chief's stipend, the city sent a letter to the district before the Nov. 16 meeting, Johnson said. The city told the district saving $3,000 would help its tight 2012 budget. The district is not having any kind of budget issues and can handle the total of $500 a month for the chief, Johnson said.

"The district is not having a budget crunch," he said. "We figured it was money well spent."

Hinchliffe said the elimination of the stipend after two years was part of an original agreement. He said the district understood that the city's part of the stipend would go away if the district did not annex the city into its boundaries.

"It was set up for two years - that was our design," Hinchliffe said. "Until the commissioners are willing to (annex us in), that's just where it sits," Hinchliffe said.