Polk County Fire District No. 1 announced that as of Friday, Jan. 11, 2013, it will no longer have a fire marshal.

Fire Chief Jason Cane announced the district
will lay off the position of fire marshal,
currently served by Jeff Donahue, due to
budget issues and structural reorganization.

He noted that the services primarily affected
by the layoff fall in areas of code enforcement,
fire-safety plan reviews and, to an extent,
investigations.

Cane noted that the district, which passed
a five-year operating levy in 2005, has
endured a shrinking budget each of the
past four years: 2009-10 $4.2 million;
2010-11 $4 million; 2011-12 $3.66 million;
2012-13 $3.4 million.

While the operating levy was sound, the
district did hire a number of positions,
including 3 paramedic firefighters; one
Emergency Medical Services division chief
and an office support position.

“We haven’t cut any of those services,
but that (fire marshal) may be the first
level,” Cane said. “I’ve been able to
take a 5-year levy and make it last 8
years. You can do that for awhile, but
it’s not going to last forever.

He said the topic of staffing will be on
the Polk No. 1 Board’s agenda at its
next meeting.