by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
After sifting through hundreds of applications, the mayor’s Fire and Rescue subcommittee announced Tuesday three finalists to become Jacksonville’s next fire chief.
Mayor John Peyton will choose from Battalion Chief Richard Barrett, Rescue District Chief Joseph Moore and Operations Chief Lorin Mock to replace former chief Ray Alfred. The City pays the Fire and Rescue director between $8-and-$10,000 per month.
Peyton spokesperson Susan Wiles said the mayor had no input into the subcommittee’s nominations, but said the next fire chief would come from their recommendations. She said Peyton would promote the man who would bring an innovative approach to the department’s operations.
Innovation will likely be necessary as the next chief looks for ways to improve the department without much additional funding. Preliminary budget drafts showed a modest $2.7 million bump from last year. Chief Operating Officer Sam Mousa told the subcommittee in June to recommend leaders who could find ways to do more with less, and who were willing to sell that message to the rank-and-file.
“Times are tough and we’re beyond the point of throwing money at problems,” said Mousa. “We need to take a better look at how technology and management skills can improve things.”
During his interview last week, Mock emphasized his ability to identify and copy other departments’ best practices. He took response patterns and equipment set-ups from Baltimore and used them to streamline his Operations Division. He said he would pursue $750 million in federal grants to offset stagnant budgets.
The three finalists acknowledged departmental racial differences as a component of low morale. Alfred was the department’s first black chief. Barring a mayoral policy reversal, the subcommittee’s recommendations assure that his replacement will be white.
Moore told the subcommittee Tuesday that he would instill “from the top down,” respect for every firefighter as a means to cure the racial ills and bolster morale. Asked his approach toward diversity, Moore related advice he gave to friend’s child.
“She asked her dad why their were so many different color faces, and I asked her, when she colored in her coloring book, was it better to just use one color or many?” said Moore.
Barrett compared the racial differences to the problems of any large company and promoted better communication to unite the department.
Two of the eight candidates interviewed were black. Former division chief Hastings Williams Jr. was eliminated by the subcommittee’s decision to promote a current department member. Inspections District Chief Alonzo McQueen’s relative inexperience hurt him. With only 15 years in the department, several subcommittee members thought his promotion to chief would prove offensive to department veterans. Barrett, Mock and Moore average 26 years with the department.
Barrett said the department’s morale problems stemmed from a lack of confidence in their equipment and their chain of command. As chief, he said he would bolster both.
“If a firefighter is concerned a pump won’t work, he’s not going to be too excited to run into a burning building,” said Barrett. “The money’s there, we need to be sure we buy apparatus that’s reliable.”
Moore said he also would re-establish the chain of command and said one of his first priorities would be to fill the leadership void soon to be created by hundreds of retirements over the next two years as part of the Deferred Optional Retirement Program. The program offers to defer retirement income into tax sheltered savings plans in return for early retirements.
All three finalists identified the DROP program as one of the department’s most significant challenges.