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Statement Against
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This amendment would change the standard by which we
now hire the City's Fire Chief It would eliminate the word "city"
and replace it with "jurisdiction" which could also mean taxing district.
This means that instead of looking for a Fire Chief who at the
very least has experience managing the fire department of a city
not less than 100,000 people (current Charter requirement) the
Mayor could end up hiring a Fire Chief of a "jurisdiction" or taxing
district who may have had only a few employees in the fire
department and whose jurisdiction was rural and not a metropolis.
It seems to us that urban fires and rural
fires are specialized situations and require different skills and experience. The
existing definition we have now in the City Charter is a minimal
requirement and a reasonable standard, it should not be lowered. If
anything the requirement of having experience running a fire
department of a city with a population of no less than 100,000 should
be increased to a city of no less than 200,000.
Vote No on Proposition 11.
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Statement prepared by:
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Fred Bucke
Linda Jordan
Phone: (206) 523-6066
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Rebuttal to Statement Against
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Many large, urban communities have fire services provided
by agencies other than a city department. This is often a county
government or a fire protection district. Seattle should be able
to choose from a wide range of locations when selecting a fire chief.
The opponents of Proposition 11 suggest that the City could
end up hiring a chief from a "rural" area. However, there are no
predominantly rural governments with fire departments that
have populations of 100,000 or more. Thus, Proposition 11 would
still result in a chief from an urban environment, but would
simply broaden the pool of possible candidates. Vote YES.
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Rebuttal prepared by:
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Paul Schell, Mayor, City of Seattle
Sue Donaldson, President, Seattle City Council
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