Two-year agreement includes vacation, comp time, sick leave

By Ann McCreary

Fire Chief Don Waller will take a two-year paid leave beginning Jan. 1, 2016, before retiring from Okanogan County Fire District 6 under an agreement approved by district commissioners last week.

Waller, who has been chief since 2002, said he has accrued 4,021 hours of vacation and sick leave, and compensation time. Commissioners agreed to place him on paid leave, during which he will be compensated at his current salary rate and continue to draw benefits, rather than pay a lump sum for accrued leave and comp time.

During the leave, Waller will respond to fire calls, and continue to participate in training and maintain certifications.

The employment agreement approved at the Dec. 14 commission meeting stated that under his employment contract Waller “has the right to resign and receive a lump sum payout of all his contractually accrued vacation and sick leave.”

The agreement said the district wants to “ameliorate the financial burden of paying (Waller) a one-time lump sum payment” and that “allowing (Waller) to be placed on paid leave from actively working, rather than tender his resignation, is mutually beneficial.”

Under the agreement, Waller will not draw a base salary while on leave, but will be compensated through his accrued leave hours at the rate agreed upon in the district’s salary schedule.

Waller’s monthly salary is $6,205.99, which totals $148,943.76 over the two-year period. That amount does not include benefits such as health insurance, vacation and sick leave, which he will continue to draw. He will also retain use of a district vehicle to respond to calls.

At the end of his two-year leave, all remaining accrued benefits, including vacation and sick leave, will be paid out, according to the agreement.

Waller said he did not know the total amount of salary and benefits, but said the agreement would not cost the district any additional money because the chief’s salary and benefits “are budgeted in” already.

Waller said he had accumulated about 1,200 hours of compensation time, much of it during the past two summers when the Methow Valley experienced the worst wildfires in its history.

The agreement becomes effective Jan. 1, and Assistant Chief Cody Acord will step in as interim chief until Waller’s retirement.

Liability questions

Les Stokes, the newly elected member of the commission who will take his seat in January, said the arrangement raised questions about potential financial fallout to the district from leave and comp time accrued by the district’s five paid employees. He said he wants to find out how many hours are owed.

“To me it’s a fiscal liability to not know how much money the district owes,” said Stokes, who defeated long-time commissioner Roy Reiber in the November election.

“I want to see how much liability we have. You could end up paying five people full-time and end up with nothing in the budget,” Stokes said.

“That is a policy that needs to be addressed. Hypothetically we could have a huge amount of the district budget spoken for. I want to look at the contracts and … look at how many hours are out there and the possible fiscal ramifications,” Stokes said.

“I personally think it [the paid leave agreement] is legal, but I think it’s in poor judgment,” Stokes said.

Retirement “is something I’ve been thinking about for some time,” said Waller. “I’ve been doing it [firefighting] for close to 45 years.” Waller said he would continue responding to fires during his leave “so they won’t be short on manpower.”

He said he wouldn’t miss the administrative part of his job. “It was never my favorite part to start with. It is the firefighting, the training, the interaction with the volunteers,” Waller said.

He said he plans to “relax” after stepping down as chief. “I’ve got lots to do around my place and I have grandkids.”

Acord said the remaining four paid staff members would share the administrative work load previously handled by five people. “We’ll have to prioritize,” he said.

Fire District 6 covers an area of approximately 350 square miles making it the largest fire district in Okanogan County.

The district’s paid and volunteer firefighters provide fire, rescue, and emergency response services from Gold Creek to Lost River, including all unincorporated areas within its boundary and the communities of Carlton, Mazama, and under contract to Twisp and Winthrop.