One Fire Chief, Two Cities — A Municipal Experiment

An experiment in joint management begins Monday, April 11, for the cities of Piedmont and Albany.

The Piedmont City Council on Monday evening signed off unanimously on an agreement for a one-year pilot project already signed by Albany, which sets up the sharing of the fire chief services of Ed Tubbs.

Responding to a question by Councilwoman Margaret Fujioka, Piedmont City Administrator Geoff Grote said the double duty should not affect emergency response in Piedmont, as the shifts are set up to have a captain or acting captain in charge of emergency response 24/7.

Grote said there is a possibility, with the chief being distracted by duties in two places, that administrative responsibilities might be deflected elsewhere in the fire department or among other city managers.

“There will be substantial extra time for him,” said Grote. “There will be a learning curve for him.”

Fujioka asked that a three-month review of the pilot project include assessments by Tubbs and Grote of administrative shifts and pressures.

Grote said there is a tremendous amount of flux among California cities now, reorganizing fire services for fiscal efficiency. Some cities are contracting with counties and others are contracting with CalFire on the state level.

Other pairs of cities have split the chief’s duties, Grote said, but they are mostly contiguous cities. Piedmont will be looking closely at the fire chief moving back and forth between Albany and Piedmont, coping with the vagaries of Berkeley and Oakland traffic.

Piedmont estimates a net savings of $111,299.55 from the one-year trial. The chief would continue to be a Piedmont municipal employee and Albany would reimburse Piedmont $133,375.72 for half his salary and benefits.