Proposition 11
(Fire Chief Experience Requirement)
Ballot Title
Shall the Seattle City Charter be amended to modify the requirement that the Fire Chief have at least ten years prior service by permitting such service to have been in a fire department in any jurisdiction of not less than one hundred thousand population rather than requiring such service to have been in a city of not less than one hundred thousand population; and shall Article X, Section 2 of such charter be amended accordingly?
Voter-Pamphlet Explanation
The Charter as it Exists Now
Article 10 of the City's Charter deals with the Fire Department.
Section 2 of Article 10 sets out, among other things, the process by which the Fire Chief is selected and removed. It also sets out the minimum qualifications for the position, requiring that the Fire Chief have "at least ten years service in a fire department in a City of not less than one hundred thousand population."
The Effect of the Proposition if Adopted
Section 2 of Article 10 would be modified to require that the Fire Chief have at least ten years service in a fire department in any "jurisdiction" of not less than one hundred thousand population, rather than requiring that service to have been in a "city" of that population. This modification would allow the Fire Chief's previous service to have been in a fire department serving a jurisdiction other than a city, for example, a county or fire-protection district.