Boardman’s fire chief search nears completion

By Ashley Luthern | May 21, 2011 at 12:04a.m.

BOARDMAN

Township trustees on Monday are expected to choose a new fire chief from three finalists.

In executive session May 9, trustees interviewed Robert Bates, assistant fire chief in Madison Township, a Columbus suburb; George D. Brown, Howland Township fire chief; and Joseph S. Rosky, a Boardman assistant fire chief.

The Ohio Fire Chiefs Association screened applicants and gave the township a list of the top five, one of whom later withdrew his application, said Trustee Chairman Thomas Costello.

The trustees were given the four candidates’ assessment sheets from the association — labeled by numbers, not names — and the board chose three to interview.

Bates served as Madison Township Fire Chief from August 2000 to September 2004, when he “assumed the newly created role of assistant fire chief due to a medical condition which has been corrected,” he wrote on his r sum .

Madison Township has a population of about 21,000, and the fire department has 45 full-time and 25 part-time firefighters.

Brown has worked for the Howland Fire Department for more than 20 years. The department has more than 60 employees and a $3 million annual budget. He is certified as a state fire and arson inspector, fire safety inspector, EMT and fire instructor.

Brown also was president of the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association from 2006 to 2007 and has a number of positions on safety advisory committees.

Rosky has been with the Boardman Fire Department since 1987 and served as assistant chief since 2003. He is certified as a fire safety inspector, fire safety instructor, first responder and Level 2 firefighter.

The three were asked a variety of questions, including their thoughts about ambulance services and whether the township should contract out all first-responder and ambulance services or handle it within the department.

“We wanted to make sure that whoever we brought in is up to speed on that subject and that they could help us make a decision,” Costello said.

“Budgeting is a big issue for us, and another big issue was staffing. Currently, Boardman is one of a few communities with an all full-time department,” he said. “In this economy, we might not be able to do that. ... Going forward, we want someone who is thinking outside of what is already there.”

Specific questions asked included:

According to the newspaper, chatter or rumor mill, the firefighters’ union is at odds with the administration. How might you end this?

What would you do on Day One if you got the job?

“We got all different answers and were able to see their different perspectives,” Costello said. “They are all very qualified, capable, and any of them could serve very well. They bring different skill sets to the table.”

Former Boardman Fire Chief James Dorman retired April 1, and since then, assistant chief Tim Drummond has served as interim chief. The new chief will make between $70,000 and $75,000 annually. Dorman’s annual salary upon retirement was $73,278.