7.3. SR 08-17-2009REQUE~I' FOR ACTION
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The Cit~r Council is asl~ed to autllarize tl~.e firing of T. John Cunningla.am for the position of fire chief
with pay and benefits as outlined below.
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The fire chief selection committee was charged with ca~a.ductj.ng .~~tet~Tiews for the fire chief position and
recommending a candidate to tla.e City Council. The committee was made up of four fitefigllters selected
by the fire department -Nate Dittbenner, Ste~re Dittbenner, Jinn Hildebrandt, and Phil Collins; two
Council representati~res - Mayor ~~linzing and Councihnen~ber Zerwas; and two staff representati~res -
Fitlance Director Tim Siinon and me. Lauren dipper, Human Resource RepresentatijTe also assisted in
the selection process, Based on the input from the selection co~r~.nittee after tl~e inter~riews and following
bacl~ground and reference checl~s, T. Jol~.n Cunningham is being reco~aamended as the Cit~~'s nest free
chief,
Mr. Cunningham is currently the Fite Chief of the Sound Beach Fire Rescue Department if.~ old
Greenwich, Connecticut. He has considerable firefighting and e~x~.ergency rescue experience and trailing.
He also leads and conducts training exercises and has assisted tl~e State of Connecticut in its emergency
management and homeland security training exercises. Mr. Cunningham has a bachelor's of science
degree in management and is pursuing a master's of professional studies degree i~ homeland securit~r
leadership.
The proposed lay and benefits for I1~r. Cunningham are as follows. Starting pay at Step ~. of pay grade 15
with pair mooring to Step J3 on July ~, 200. All future pay increases and all benefits would be i~
accordance with the Cur's personnel policy. In addition, to accommodate lais master's degree study, he
will be granted fi~Te days of paid personal lea~re in 200 for• an educational program. requitement i1 wl~icl~
he needs to participate to complete lais master's degree. I~astly, he will be eligible for payment of up to
~2,D00 to reimburse tra~rel and mooring related expenses.
Finally, Mr. Cunniagha~n's anticipated starting date is September 28. He intends to male two trips to Ells
Ri~rer to meet with cit~T staff and firefighters before actually tal~ilg o~rer as fire chief on September 2$.
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