By James Burger
The Bakersfield Californian
KERN COUNTY, Calif. — Kern County may get new firefighters next year after all.
Fire Chief Nick Dunn had a rough day before the Kern County Board of Supervisors two weeks ago.
Supervisors wanted him to explain how the county could hire more firefighters without spending millions of dollars on a training academy.
He told them it wasn’t possible. They told him that wasn’t an acceptable answer.
On Tuesday, Dunn will come back to the board with a plan he crafted with county administrators, attorneys and personnel staff. The plan is to hire candidates who have already acquired some basic fire training on their own and polish their skills off with a few weeks of field training.
Dunn said getting everyone in the room and on the same page created some effective communication and a plan he thinks will work.
It will cost only $400,000 and put 30 new firefighters on the streets by March. The fire department will be able to make some internal cost cuts to make the training a financial wash.
“These are extraordinary times and we’re doing things to save the county some money,” Dunn said.
Supervisors hailed the solution.
“It’s a straightforward solution. It’s too bad we didn’t come up with it two weeks ago because it caused a lot of angst for a lot of people in the interim,” said Supervisor Mike Maggard.
Dunn has maintained since summer there’s a critical need for an academy because a new round of firefighter retirements is expected in March and the department needs new blood.
Historically the county fire department has hired new staff by picking the best candidates from a big pool of applicants and running them through an extensive training program that lasts at least 18 weeks.
In June, Dunn asked for $2.3 million to run the academy.
But cash-strapped supervisors, facing sweeping layoffs and the deletion of hundreds of empty jobs in a host of other county departments, couldn’t justify that spending.
They directed Dunn to come back with plans for a cost-neutral fire academy.
On Sept. 29, Dunn reported a cost-neutral academy was impossible because civil service rules prevented him from making potential firefighters on a certified list pay for their fire training.
He asked for $1.2 million to launch a fire academy.
Supervisors weren’t happy with his response and told him to find a cheaper solution.
What Dunn and county administrators came up with in the last two weeks voids the troublesome “certified” list of candidates and pulls a new batch of trainees using different hiring standards.
Tops on the list of requirements for those top trainees is prior completion of an approved “firefighter 1" program — a 13-week training course often offered by community colleges.
That training is the key to saving the county money.
Personnel Director Mark Quinn said the top candidates will already have a large amount of the training they need.
“They won’t have to train them on those basic firefighter skills,” he said. “They will only have to train them on Kern County-specific skills.”
Dunn said the new staff will come on in January, complete some field training and be ready to fill empty jobs in March.
Supervisor Michael Rubio said this kind of thinking is going to be needed by more than just the fire department in these tough budget times.
“We can change. We can save money for taxpayers. At the same time we can put together the programs that meet the needs,” he said.
Copyright 2009 The Bakersfield Californian