Crime & Safety

Commission Won't Back Off on Plans to Hire Search Firm to Find New Fire Chief

Waukesha Common Council denied funding for nationwide search firm to find a new fire chief, but the Police and Fire Commission still wants to hire an outside firm for the selection process.

The Waukesha Police and Fire Commission still wants to hire a national search firm as it selects a new fire chief — even though the Common Council is denying it funding to do so.

The commission is asking interim City Administrator Steve Crandell to provide it with fiscal information about the budgeting process for hiring a search firm combined with the savings from retired Fire Chief Allen LaConte, who is no longer receiving a salary from the city.

The search firm is needed so the city will have a large pool of candidates to draw from, said commission member Cheryl Gemignani at the commission's meeting Monday.

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“The search for a new fire chief is as important as the search for a new city administrator and should be handled in the same manner to be fair and equitable to all,” she said.

The commission is tasked by state statutes to be in charge of the hiring and firing process at the police and fire departments to prevent partisan politics. That includes establishing the selection and screening process for the hiring of a new fire chief.

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Gemignani said while the commission “appreciates” the Common Council’s suggestions to keep the search for a new fire chief internally, "we respectfully decline to do so.”

“We as a commission do not have access to staff,” she said. “It is therefore necessary for a search firm and its attended manpower to be hired to take us through the extensive and time-intensive process of recruiting, screening, testing and vetting of candidates who are the best qualified for the job and to make sure that the process is in compliance with all the federal, state and local laws so as to not expose the commission or the city to any potential litigation.”

Aldermen last week denied the funding for a nationwide search firm for a new  chief, with some saying there are plenty of qualified candidates within the Fire Department.

The council on hiring the search firm for $16,900. The has the money in its budget since it's no longer paying a chief's salary. Mayor Jeff Scrima cast the deciding vote against hiring a search firm, breaking a 7-7 tie on the council.


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