City Manager Exploring Ways to Address Loss of Fire Chief

In the wake of Piedmont's decision this past week to stop sharing a fire chief with Albany, Albany City Manager Beth Pollard said in a statement Friday that she is "exploring the City’s options for fulfilling duties and responsibilities of the Fire Chief."

Pollard plans to report the results of her exploration to the City Council next month, she said.

The two cities had been sharing Fire Chief Edward Tubbs, who plans to retire May 31. The agreement, under which Tubbs worked half time for each city, began in April 2011 and allowed either city to terminate it with 90 days notice.

The Piedmont City Council, following the recommendation of Piedmont City Administrator Geoffrey Grote, voted Monday to discontinue the shared chief. Grote said Piedmont did not have sufficient administrative staff in its fire department to continue with a half-time chief.

Pollard praised Tubbs' "extraordinary" work as Albany's half-time fire chief and said the city "must continually seek ways to provide excellent services at an efficient cost."    

Here is Pollard's full statement:

Facing tight economic times, acknowledging the increasingly sophistication and regionalization of fire and emergency medical services, and recognizing commonalities such as medical transport services, the cities of Albany and Piedmont began a shared Fire Chief arrangement April, 2011. Piedmont’s Fire Chief, Ed Tubbs, served in this role, and split his time between the two cites.

Chief Tubbs has announced his retirement effective May 31. The City of Piedmont has decided it wants to return to a full-time chief and will end the arrangement with the chief’s retirement.

Chief Tubbs did an extraordinary job of managing two fire departments, thereby saving the city money, expanding the Albany chief’s presence with other agencies, and inspiring Albany to pursue other cooperative efforts. He worked very hard to maintain continuous oversight and involvement. His uniform – with a Piedmont patch on one sleeve and an Albany patch on the other – was emblematic of his commitment to both cities. I am very grateful for his dedication to the Albany department, city, and community.

The City of Albany must continually seek ways to provide excellent services at an efficient cost. The Albany City Council deserves credit for leading and supporting city staff looking at innovative ways – including partnerships with other agencies – to stretch tax dollars.

We are fortunate in Albany to have Fire Department employees who are not just open to new ways of operating, but who encourage creativity. I am thankful for the firefighters’ role in making the shared chief arrangement work.

As for the future, I am exploring the City’s options for fulfilling duties and responsibilities of the Fire Chief. I plan to report to the Council in March with the results of that exploration.