Power and Control, Part 2

Earlier this week we looked at the types of power and how to control them. One of the key points of the discussion was that legitimate power needs to be strictly defined. Defining the process of election and/or appointment along with rights, responsibilities, and authority of the position will help to strengthen the department and its officers. Furthermore a detailed process and job duties will help to curtail those with referent and expert power from taking over.

The Camden fire department submitted their entire bylaws to VolunteerFD.org. They do a good job at outlining minimum requirements of each office, with a bit of job duties thrown in. One of the more interesting points is a requirement to demonstrate management and leadership skills. I am not sure how you measure these requirements, but it is a good thought.

The Ponderosa VFD submitted their bylaws to VolunteerFD.org with an interesting added tidbit. They are removing their “caucus” of active members to eliminate elected officers and have the Chief appoint the Assistant Chief. The Chief and Assistant would then appoint the Deputy, and so on. The bonus here is that the Chief ends up with a team he can count on, but you could have a bit of favoritism factor in. My only caution would be to have some type of oversight board to keep the appointments in check. Ideally there would be a board of commissioners or the like of three members who are not one of the appointed officers. This board will help to curtail favoritism.

The Town of Lake Cowichan Fire Department has a slightly different set of bylaws. Their bylaws were developed by their town council and therefore have a different ‘feel’. First of all, their officers are appointed by the town council. This makes the position a political one first and foremost. The second interesting thing is that they did a good job of detailing the Chief’s right to break into and tear down buildings, but very little information about his duties running the department. This is due to who wrote the bylaws, but it also shows who’s really in charge. I would be interested to see how the department runs on a daily basis.

The Leon Springs Fire Department has 10 officers with (2) year staggered terms. They also have a nominating committee that is supposed to nominate at least two people for each person. They then elect the offices individually. I like that people interested in the position must put their request in writing 30 days prior, that way they can’t just decide the night of and need to make a conscious decision to run. The other ‘odd’ thing is that they do the election by mail. This assures that all members have a chance to vote, even if they do not attend the meetings.

Leon Spring’s bylaws do a great job of detailing job descriptions down to the committee level. If you are looking for job duties, this is a good place to look. As a side note, they also define their banking, check writing and accountability system. They require two signatures for each check and require documentation for each check.

Last year I wrote an article about electing fire officers. Overall the topic discussed minimum requirements and how to stay away from a popularity contest. A good election process goes hand in hand with a good outline of duties and responsibilities. The point is to elect or appoint the best candidate rather then the ‘popular’ one.

Often the person that you want to run your organization is not the one who wants the position the most. My article on “Being an Officer” touched on this subject. Your leaders shape your department and determine what the atmosphere is like. This atmosphere can change your department’s retention rate and conversion of new firefighters into lifetime firefighters.

Next week we will look at LOSAP plans and their effects on recruitment and retention. LOSAP plans are good, but no plan will ever be good enough to overcome a hostile environment within a department.