Nine applicants submitted materials to the Special Districts Association of
Oregon (SDAO) by the deadline of Friday, Oct. 16, forming the pool from
which a new Fire Chief will be hired for the Hoodland Fire District. The
district’s board of directors met on Friday, Oct. 23 to review the applications
and develop a consensus on the top candidates to move into the interview
process.

A Meet and Greet event featuring the top three candidates will take place on.
Sunday, Nov. 15. Time and place will be posted on the district’s website,
www.hoodlandfire.us. The public is welcome to the event, which will also
include the district’s career and volunteer staff.

“We were really elated to get that many,” said the district’s board of directors
president, Shirley Dueber.

Interviews are expected to take place on Monday, Nov. 16, with a decision on
the new chief sometime after. The new chief could take over for the new year,
although Dueber noted it would depend on the finalist’s prior obligations.
The new chief will take over a district grappling with issues brought to light by
an organizational assessment performed by the SDAO, in which it offered 64
recommendations dealing with everything from governance and personnel
management to finances and the training and safety program.

Interim Fire Chief Steve Abel noted that the district continues to make
progress, but much of what will be implemented will take place when the new
Fire Chief is aboard. Abel added that two of the financial audits from previous
years that were not done previously have been completed (for fiscal years
2016-17 and 2017-18), with the only reported discrepancies relating to
administrative procedures. An audit for the 2018-19 fiscal year is also in the
final stage of completion and should be done by the end of November,
according to Abel.

“Getting (three) audits completed in this timeframe shows the commitment of
our Fire Board and staff,” Abel said in an email to the Mountain Times.

Abel also added that the testing process for the district’s Division Chief
position was completed on Friday, Oct. 16, featuring three staff members who
applied for the position. The position transitioned from a deputy chief position
and will fulfil the intent of a levy passed by voters in May 2019. Abel plans on
making the promotion once the testing results have been certified by the Civil
Service Commission (CSC).

Abel appointed Scott Kline earlier this year to the Deputy Chief position on an
interim basis, but that appointment concluded at the end of October due to a
six-month limit by the CSC.