A leadership transition plan for Vashon Island Fire & Rescue (VIFR) has begun to take shape in the wake of Fire Chief Matt Vinci’s resignation from the role, with some key questions about what’s next for VIFR still up in the air.

Following his hire as the new fire chief of Spokane County District #9, Vinci’s last day at VIFR will be Jan. 17 — a date he announced at a special commissioner’s meeting held on Dec. 19 to discuss the next steps for VIFR.

At the meeting, commissioners unanimously approved Vinci’s recommendation to sign a six-month to one-year contract with Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority (PSRFA) to provide 10-15 hours a week of administrative and operations support to Deputy Fire Chief Ben Davidson and other key staff members.

The cost of the consultancy, Vinci estimated, would be between $33,500 and $67,000, depending on the length of time served by the consultant.

At the meeting, Matt Hergott, the president of Local Union 4189, representing VIFR’s career firefighters, said union members supported the consultant’s hire — though he said he believed the members would prefer the consultant work a greater number of hours per week.

“We see a lot of potential benefits [in gaining] access to a greater depth of experience from another department [and] a chance to learn from [those] practices, strategies and processes,” Hergott said.

PSRFA serves the communities of Covington, Kent, Maple Valley, SeaTac and Tukwila as well as the nearby unincorporated areas of King County Fire Districts #37 and 43. With 450 employees, PSRFA is one of the largest fire service agencies in King County and is staffed by 450 people, with 345 of these being uniformed personnel.

Vinci said that after preliminary discussions with PSFRA about the 10-15 hours a week consultancy, he is confident that the consultant coming from that agency will be a good fit for the role and well-qualified to advise on the completion of the major renovation currently underway at VIFR’s Fire Station 55, and act as an advisor to VIFR’s staff, including Deputy Chief Davidson, who will, at least temporarily, lead VIFR after Vinci’s departure.

Davidson, a longtime islander who joined the district as a volunteer and has risen through its ranks during his 16-year tenure, was recently promoted to the role of deputy chief.

The board has not yet named Davidson as VIFR’s acting or interim chief, though the possibility was discussed at the Dec. 19 meeting, with commissioners Brigitte Schran Brown, Amy Drayer and Pam King speaking in favor of such a move.

Drayer said that not appointing an acting chief would create a harmful perception of a lack of leadership at VIFR.

“[A consultant] who is here 10 to 15 hours a week [for six months to a year] is not going to be able to wear the hat of acting chief,” Drayer said. “Strong leadership is essential for every organization to thrive, but in a hierarchy, having someone at the top of the hierarchy is absolutely essential. It just creates a world of problems the longer you go without a place where the buck stops.”

“…I feel that [hiring a consultant from PSRFA] is terrific,” Schran Brown said. “I think we need all the support we can get, but I also see that we’re putting a big burden on Ben, and my recommendation would be to appoint him as acting chief for six months because he’s going to essentially be in that role, and [then] evaluate that in six months.”

Commissioner Candy McCullough argued against that course.

“I want Ben to be successful, and I think that leaving him in his current role is enough, and he’s going to take on more responsibility,” she said. “But I think he will really benefit from having [PSRFA] guide him and help him learn from that.”

Commissioner Jim Whitney agreed with McCullough, adding that Davidson, in his current role as deputy chief, would already serve as the highest authority in VIFR’s chain of command in the absence of a fire chief.

Commissioner Pam King, in contrast, said she believed Davidson was already prepared to lead the district.

“I do support having a position mentoring Deputy Chief Davidson to move forward if this is where he wants to go — I think he deserves the opportunity and I think he’s fully capable,” said King.

During the meeting, the board did not take action on another option for the transition presented by Vinci — to hire a recruiting firm to conduct a national search for a new fire chief.

The cost of doing so, Vinci said, would be approximately $18,500-$25,000.

Whitney urged the board to give more thought to this suggestion.

“I sat in on the interview when Chief Vinci was hired as (VIFR’s) assistant chief,” he said, noting that Vinci had been “a bit of unicorn” in the field of candidates. “I know what the market looks like out there, and it’s a tough market for a community this size, and we have internal candidates who are important to recognize.”

After further discussion by board members, VIFR finance director Christina Bosch weighed in, saying the staff needed a new chief as soon as possible.

“I’ve been around the fire service for a long time, and I know what it is like to have an absent leader,” she said. “And I think that kind of situation can be very dangerous to the entire staff because then we’re going to move backward, and we don’t want to do that. We’ve made so much progress over the last two and a half years that we want to continue to move forward.”

Having a full-time leader in place as soon as possible would make that possible, Bosch added.

“Moving forward to something permanent as soon as we can is our best option,” she said.

McCullough presented a motion to invite staff and community stakeholders to give more input to the district in terms of its future leadership and priorities, suggesting that a stakeholder meeting should take place in the first week of January.

But Drayer balked at that timing, saying it would be too short to properly prepare and engage a facilitator for such a meeting — a comment that prompted other board members to suggest the possible hire of a consultant to run the meeting. At that point, McCullough withdrew her motion, saying she would begin to seek out stakeholder information on her own and urging other commissioners to do the same.

Board chair Schran Brown suggested that the board should return to the discussion of obtaining input from the community at its next regular meeting, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30. The meeting will begin with a tour of the construction of Station 55, located directly across the road from the Penny Farcy Building, where the rest of the meeting will take place.

Vinci, for his part, said that in the coming weeks, he would continue a hand-off of his knowledge and information about the district to Davidson.

“I’m not trying to rush this, but we wouldn’t have promoted Ben Davidson to deputy fire chief if I didn’t have the confidence that was a sound decision to serve this community in the most appropriate way,” Vinci said. “So I’m not going to going to tell you what to call him, but I know he needs the authority [and support] to do the job — not because he doesn’t have the skill set, the desire, the heart, the will to do it. It’s just that it’s a lot of work. So you augment that with the [PSRFA consultant] .. and with another layer of stakeholder engagement from the labor group, and I think it’s a win for the district.”

In a brief interview the day after the meeting, Davidson said he looked forward to working with the PSRFA consultant, as well as the rest of the staff during VIFR’s leadership transition — but made clear he, too, thought it was important for VIFR to give him the title of interim or acting chief during the transition period.

“I think it will allow me to be more successful in that role, and ease the minds of community members — who want to know who is in charge — as well as the rank and file,” Davidson said. “If I’m going to be in the role, I should have the title.”

Speaking of his long history with VIFR, Davidson said he was ready to serve.

“I want what’s best for VIFR — to maintain the same level of safety for our members and high level of service to our community,” he said. “I understand the district, having been integral in all aspects of its operations in recent years. I feel confident I can help the district to continue and grow the great work we’ve been doing.”