Fire departments will no longer share fire chief

Excerpts from ChicagoTribune.com:

Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn have decided to end their year-long experiment of sharing a fire chief, marking the conclusion of an unusual but collaborative arrangement between the two communities.

With the hiring of a full-time fire chief in Chicago Ridge, George Sheets will now focus exclusively on his role as the head of the Oak Lawn Fire Department. Sheets requested the change so he could concentrate fully on his six-year position in Oak Lawn, where he has been instrumental in managing operations and driving improvements.

Chicago Ridge Mayor Chuck Tokar expressed that the village will miss Sheets, but emphasized that “he won’t leave until we find a suitable replacement, even if it takes three or six months.” Despite the challenges of managing two departments, Tokar acknowledged that the shared leadership model had worked well. However, the demands of overseeing both fire departments proved too much for one individual.

Sheets had been serving in both roles for the past year, spending about two days per week in Chicago Ridge. He took over from Robert Muszynski, who resigned in 2014 due to personal disagreements with some village officials, including Mayor Tokar, over potential changes to the department’s structure.

At the time, Tokar wanted to reopen the 107th Street and Lombard Avenue firehouse without hiring the full complement of seven to eight firefighters that Muszynski had recommended. Instead, the station was reopened using part-time staff. An advertisement on the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association website highlights Sheets’ achievements in Chicago Ridge, including the reopening of the station and cost reductions. It also notes that the new chief's salary will be determined based on experience.

Beyond reopening the long-closed station, Sheets introduced a part-time firefighter program that now includes 11 members and is expected to grow to around 15. He explained that the part-timers allow the department to maintain six firefighters on duty during each shift, which is more than before, and the system has been effective. The station at 107th and Lombard is currently open for 12 hours a day, but plans are underway to extend its hours to 24 by August.

Under an agreement signed last July, Chicago Ridge contributed one-third of Sheets’ salary, amounting to $37,695. The village currently employs 13 full-time firefighters and 23 part-time or on-call personnel. The fire department’s budget for fiscal 2015 was $2.7 million, and it responded to approximately 2,600 calls annually, most of which were medical emergencies.

Oak Lawn Mayor Sandra Bury stated that neither she nor the city trustees pressured Sheets to return to full-time duties in Oak Lawn. “No, no, no,” she said. “Everyone benefits from shared resources.”

Thanks, Dan

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