LYNNWOOD — After searching for Lynnwood’s next fire chief for nine months, the city still is at least a month away from filling the job — a delay that’s frustrating some firefighters and City Council members.
The city has narrowed the choice to six finalists out of 23 applicants, but Mayor Mike McKinnon says he’s several weeks away from announcing his decision. The council must then confirm the chief.
In the meantime, Assistant Fire Chief Gary Olson, a candidate for the top job, is running the department.
But “without a fire chief, it kind of creates a void,” said Bryce Jacobson, president of Lynnwood Fire Department Union Local 1984.
“This has taken a long time. Most departments probably would have had a chief selected by now,” he said.
The length of the search is partly because of the process, which included three interviews and two extra questionnaires for applicants.
McKinnon also said he’s taking extra time to ensure the right person is hired for the job, following his well-publicized dispute last year with the former chief, Bob Meador.
McKinnon put Meador on administrative leave in August, then approved a fire-lane change himself. The move triggered an ethics investigation and lawsuit. Meador, who led the department for 12 years, retired in December without returning to work.
The chief was also investigated for alleged billing violations after he reportedly allowed a firefighter on disability leave to bill the city for repairs he made to a department fire engine.
McKinnon said he’s looking for someone he can work with closely, but said last year’s difficulties aren’t influencing the search.
“All I was asking with the previous fire chief was to follow city codes. I would never ask the new fire chief to do any more than that,” he said.
“If someone has the impression that I’m waiting to find someone to bend to my whims, that’s absolutely not the case.”
But last year’s conflict could affect the chief’s confirmation by the council, who reprimanded the mayor for putting Meador on leave.
“Obviously, that set the stage for a little more friction with the council and the mayor,” City Council President Lisa Utter said.
“The council wants to know that the person they get is going to give the best professional advice, and that their advice is not being filtered through a nonprofessional in the field — that would be the mayor.”
The next chief will play a key role in union negotiations, scheduled to begin this summer, and in working on any changes proposed by the fire department’s performance audit, scheduled to be released in the next few months.
The chief search has cost the city $6,500 so far. It’s not unusual for the city to take months to fill top positions, human resources director Robin Hall said.
It took 15 months to hire Olson for his job, and 15 months to hire the city’s previous finance director, who both started in 1996, she said. In contrast, the city’s police chief was hired in four months.
The city has searched for a fire chief outside of the department before but has never hired one from outside the agency.
Katherine Schiffner is a reporter for the Herald in Everett.
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