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Page 17 <br />1 comparative purposes: the chief of the smaller and less <br />2 diverse Maui Fire Department is paid $151,200 per year, <br />3 and the chief of the larger but less complex Honolulu <br />4 Fire Department is paid $185,112. In my research, it <br />5 was difficult to find fire chief positions in <br />6 California that were paid less than $200,000 per year, <br />7 and many of them had total pay and benefit packages <br />8 worth $300,000 per year or more, sometimes a great deal <br />9 more. Even the chief of a small city like Alameda, <br />10 <br />California for example, <br />with only four fire <br />stations <br />11 <br />and 87 personnel, paid <br />their chief $243,000 <br />with a <br />12 <br />total pay and benefits <br />compensation package <br />worth over <br />13 <br />$363,000 in 2016. I'm <br />not suggesting that <br />the HFD -- <br />14 <br />Hawaii Fire Department <br />-- chief be paid at <br />this level, <br />15 but it must be understood that these figures are not <br />16 atypical within the fire executive community. <br />17 In summary, we need to pay our chief and <br />18 deputy chief as the highly skilled professionals they <br />19 are. It is paramount for the future of the department <br />20 to make senior positions attractive to rank and file so <br />21 that the best and brightest will compete for, and <br />22 promote up through, the ranks into these positions. If <br />23 we don't fairly compensate our executive leaders, the <br />24 whole of the fire department and the department's <br />25 ability to serve the public will suffer over time. <br />ISLAND COURT REPORTING & TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES <br />(808) 933-9800 <br />