Officials report budget deficit of up to $3 million, staff cuts may be necessary
By Buffy Pollock, Rogue Valley Times
During a three-and-a-half-hour meeting Tuesday, the Jackson County Fire District 5 board offered insight into the struggling district’s financial woes, including how it went from receiving unprecedented grants to potentially running out of money before the end of the year.
District officials reported a budget deficit of between $1 million and $3 million, at least in the short term, and the need to cut staff by as many as a dozen positions if drastic measures are not taken.
District 5 Salaries in comparison
According to statistics on govsalaries.com, an independent website that collects salary data for government jobs across the country, top salaries in Jackson County Fire District 5 are well above the national average for the same positions.
Fire Chief Charles Hanley’s total compensation for 2023 was $279,432, including $191,621 base salary, $22,685 sell-back leave, $23,212 extracurricular compensation, $4,527 educational incentive, and $3,553 long-term compensation.
The average salary for a fire chief in Oregon is $130,497. The salary range for a fire chief is typically between $89,590 and $166,368 per year. The highest-paying employers for fire chief jobs include Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue ($218,710), the City of Portland ($214,977) and the City of Hillsboro ($188,905), according to the website. Acting Fire Chief Aaron Bustard earned a base salary of $118,552 and $32,068 in overtime pay as an assistant chief in 2023. The average salary for an assistant chief in Oregon is $74,754. Several battalion chiefs in the district earned just over $107,000. The website did not provide averages for comparison.
Nine District 5 captains earned base salaries between $95,000 and $98,000. Their overtime pay in 2023 ranged from $21,000 to $56,000, totaling more than $260,100.
Administrative Assistant Tina Maziarski had a base salary of $78,551 and $2,226 in overtime. The national average for an Administrative Assistant job is $47,334.
During a review of the district’s finances, Acting Fire Chief Aaron Bustard updated board members and an audience of about 20 people on ongoing cost-saving measures.
All discretionary spending, Bustard said, has been “completely halted.”
A fire truck ordered to replace one lost in an accident on Dead Indian Memorial Road in October was canceled due to lack of funds, even though the old one was insured.
The district is no longer participating in out-of-county operations, in which local fire districts and departments provide personnel to response teams that are designed to help surrounding regions during large-scale emergencies. Bustard said the district cannot seriously send resources given the current uncertainty.
To deal with staffing shortages and an overtime freeze, neighboring districts have increased mutual aid on emergency calls, according to Bustard. Fire District 5 has also stepped up efforts to recruit volunteer firefighters to bolster staffing levels.
“We had to make a decision about how many people we could basically use per day,” said Bustard. “We want to have three people per fire truck. For that reason, we can currently only use two fire trucks per day.”
To pay salaries, the district took out a loan earlier this year, according to Bustard. The district serves more than 22,000 people and operates fire stations in Phoenix, Talent and unincorporated Ashland.
Tuesday’s meeting comes just a week after the board unanimously voted to terminate the contract of district chief Charles Hanley after an investigation confirmed allegations of covering up sexual harassment, covering up and participating in bullying, and interfering in the work of a state promotions panel.
Concerns about Hanley’s leadership abilities were first raised publicly in February, when members of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2596 said they had lost confidence in the chief.
In the months that followed, three board members resigned en masse, Jackson County commissioners appointed their replacements, the district’s financial crisis became apparent, and county officials began making plans to seek assistance from Jackson County Fire District 3 under an intergovernmental agreement.
To combat the budget deficit, Bustard said the district has cut benefits for employees – the interim chief himself has taken a cut in benefits, according to board President Greg Costanzo – and also received board approval Tuesday to sell district equipment.
Bustard said he saw warning signs even before he was appointed interim chief in May, but the district’s actual financial situation is worse than he could have imagined. Bustard said revenues were above projections, line items were underbudgeted and grants received after the devastating Almeda fire in 2020 were mismanaged.
Just a year ago, the district was busy with construction projects — including remodeling a train station, a public building in Phoenix and a new training facility — and had to hire additional staff.
Bustard said he quickly realized that “our available resources were not enough to get us through to the end of the year.”
Board member Chris Luz told the audience that things here in the district had been “a little bit siloed, with the former chief really in control of the finances, the budget and what was going on behind the scenes and not being as fully informed as perhaps should have been.”
Board Secretary Derek Volkart recalls attending a budget meeting before joining the board where Hanley “got a pat on the back for getting all the grant money.”
“He said, ‘It’s time to expand the district from the California state line to the Medford city limits and move forward,'” Volkart recalled. “And now we’re facing bankruptcy after receiving $8.5 million in grants.”
Bustard said the district rehired a former office manager and financial officer “to get an idea of what the financial outlook looks like for the year.” They presented a budget that showed the district might run out of operating funds in November.
Board member John Karns, who works as fire chief at Medford Airport, said he was shocked by the district’s salaries, which are “above acceptable,” and by the financial mismanagement that has taken place there.
“You can’t just take a district with about 25 employees and then add 21 people. That’s completely untenable,” Karns said.
“Amazing finances here. And what’s even more amazing is that they’re coming from the board. They’re completely asleep at the wheel.”
Karns expressed hope that the district would move forward with an intergovernmental agreement with Fire District 3.
In recent months, 5th District officials met with fire officials from Ashland, Medford and the 3rd District and directed Bustard to continue discussions with the 3rd District.
Third District Supervisor Mike Hussey said his district will provide some options that could lead to cost reductions for certain administrative functions in the Fifth District.
“We have an opportunity here with District 3. District 3 is the best in two counties of the Rogue Valley fire districts,” Karns said.
“They have the most resources, the most expertise… I hope everyone is on the same page – management, union, board, citizens, everyone works together on this because we will not have another opportunity like this.”
After Tuesday’s meeting, Bustard said support from across the region has been critical in helping the district address its issues.
Bustard and board chair Greg Costanzo urged the community to voice their opinions and attend upcoming meetings. Bustard said he is confident there is still opportunity for the district to move forward.
“If we were a standalone agency and there was no one to help us, if there was no partnership, then people would panic because no one would come,” he said.
“We have been a really strong partner for other agencies over the years, and now they are strong partners for us too… And that’s what I want to say to the public: We are managing the situation, but we are not leaving ourselves alone.”
Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 458-488-2029 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
