It’s a sad day in Contra Costa County as Contra Costa County Fire Protection District Chief Daryl Louder has decided to retire. The positive here is that he has given the county plenty of time to find a replacement and allow for a transition period. The bad part, he is a solid chief who was not given credit for all he dealt with by the Contra Costa Times, Contra Costa Taxpayers Association and those in the community who called for service model changes.
According to Supervisor Federal Glovers office, his resignation will not become official until the Board of Supervisors Acts which will not occur until the April 9 meeting.
Of course, the Contra Costa Times wrote today are trying to spin this into something its not.
The chief has had a rough time in Contra Costa, arriving mid-2010 as the brunt of the housing market collapse hit his department’s budget. The fire district depends almost solely on property taxes, which saw double-digit dips as home values plunged. The district’s financial woes were exacerbated by rapidly rising firefighters’ pension annual contribution rates.
Taxpayers nixed a temporary bailout parcel fee last year that would have kept the agency somewhat intact, and the chief has been unhappily focused on shaving service and closing stations.
To correct the Times yet again, it was up to the voters to ensure stations remained open and it was not a bailout as they are proclaiming. You can only service what tax dollars are brought in by property taxes.
The pension issue has been addressed in many ways, however, it takes time to resolve itself and is not instant–all firefighters are on a new tier upon hire. If I am the Chief, I would also fight not to reduce service or closing stations as well as Chief Louder did. The Chief actually acted reasonably whereas the Contra Costa Times and other advocacy groups were being unrealistic and obnoxious in their claims against the District and the Board of Supervisors.
Greetings,
Please allow this e-mail to express my intention to retire from my position as Fire Chief with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District effective October 31, 2013. I wanted to provide as much notice as possible so that you can begin the recruitment and hiring process to ensure a smooth transition.
It has been an honor and privilege to serve this community and work with the dedicated and professional men and women of this organization.
However, it has been an on-going challenge for my wife and I to reside in California when all of our family members live on the East Coast. Now, we have family members that are experiencing health problems that require our closer attention and time.
During the next seven months, I plan to continue to work diligently on the strategic challenges facing the District. Additionally, I will work with my replacement to help ensure a smooth transition for the organization. I will send a formal letter of notification to Chairman Glover in the near future.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve as your fire chief and look forward to working with you during my remaining tenure with the District.
Regards,
DarylDaryl Louder
Fire Chief
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Here is the email Chief Louder sent to all of CONFIRE
Greetings Everyone,
Earlier this morning, I notified our Board of Directors of my intention to retire from my position as Fire Chief with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District effective October 31, 2013. This is a very difficult decision for me as I have enjoyed working with each of you and I am very proud of our members and organization.
It has been an honor and privilege to serve this community and work with the dedicated and professional men and women of this organization.
As many of you know, there has always been a conflict for Chris and I being here and having all of our other family members live on the East Coast. Now, we have family members that are experiencing health problems that require our closer attention and time. It is very difficult to balance both the professional and personal demands.
During the next seven months, I plan to continue to work collaboratively on the strategic challenges facing the District. Additionally, I will work with my replacement to help ensure a smooth transition for the organization. Although not required, I believe it is important for all of you to know that I have not applied for any other job and I am not leaving to take another position.
I have appreciated the opportunity to work with each of you and to serve as your fire chief. I look forward to working with you during my remaining tenure with the District.
Regards,
Chief Louder
12 comments
Burke is wrong, it was time for him to go. He is walking away while the District is not in complete disaster.
I agree, it is time for him to go. Thanks for your time Chief.
Louder refused to look at changing services models and stop sending engines to medicals, he deserved to go. I am ready for a new chief who will think out of the box and realize the service models need to be tweaked to meet todays demands. Now lets hope we are not paying him a hefty pension.
Some of these comments are flat out disgusting. Louder did a great job considering the hand he was dealt. He will be missed more than you think. Lets hope the Board makes a good hire and not a pushover.
You people are ridiculous.
Chief Louder did not create this problem. The fire Chief before him (Richter) is mostly to blame as is the economy and a host of other factors. In less they can find a new fire Chief that can print money (or get a fire tax passed) they will have the exact same issues going forward. Just ask any fire chief, fire fighter or board member.
It is no different here in east county, which is why our district continues (and will continue) to struggle.
The idea of a new fire model to replace one that isn’t broken is even more bizarre. If you think any different then ask yourself; What defines a medical call? What defines a fire? Once you have done that then ask yourself who would you send to a medical call like the most recent one where a vehicle landed in the delta waters and the two occupants expired. That certainly was not a fire and the “medical people” had nothing to do except wait for the fire department to show up.
Who amongst you would want to be the person that decides which emergencies to send only the medical crews to? And how would you go about defending your bad decisions when the fire department were needed but you made a bad decision based on a hysterical caller’s definition of an emergency situation?
I can only imagine how fast any department would be financially drained as the lawsuits piled up.
Figure it out people. Sending the fire department to LESS calls does not save a dime, they are already being paid to be on duty. Why wouldn’t we want them to respond? We are going to have to pay for their services regardless of what types of calls they go on! It’s not that complicated.
Reading some of the responses here it is clear, that common sense is not so common.
Billy, yes we will pay him a hefty pension. Shared by different places he has worked I suppose.
Julio, it appears you are incorrect. “We” will not pay him a “hefty” pension. In fact he will not get any pension from Contra Costa, or the State of California.
The problem with blogs is that people speak out without having any real knowledge, background or correct information. Emotion and assumptions are a dangerous things.
If you doubt my opinion/fact, perhaps you could call the chief himself, read a report or contact his bosses (supervisors). ….or just consider the fact that he was not an employee of the county long enough to become vested.
Then again you could read it here; http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-county/ci_22916340/contra-costa-fire-chief-daryl-louder-calls-it?source=email
“The chief is retiring from full-time employment as a fire professional, but he will not collect a Contra Costa County pension, Louder confirmed. He would have had to work at least five years to become eligible for the benefit.”
Sorry to burst your bubble. Just trying to keep it real.
By the way, what is a “hefty” pension for someone that has put his life at risk on and off for over 30 years? Honestly, I was just wondering?
You go B-Wood!!!!! I am so fed up and disgusted with the “hefty” pensions talk. The large majority of our public safety/first responders retirement is somewhere between $2500 to $3500 a month—if they make it to 30 years. The vast majority retire due to injuries. I can’t tell you the number of Police Officers that have been injuried while trying to arrest a young hopped-up on drugs young adult. Oh, and out of that monthly payment, they pay their medical to the tune of $600+ a month per person. And because they belong to PERS, no social security unless they worked at another job that qualified for SS. But then SS takes into consideration their PERS retirement.
b-wood. You are so right. I didn’t read that until this morning and I qualified my answer with “I suppose”. I did have some doubt because of his time on the job. Best wishes to the chief and thanks for your time.
By the way, most of you on the blog are as guilty as I was of doing the same thing.
The only thing we can thank Louder for is his contribution to the failed pension system that may help a billionth of its debt when the door hits him on the way out.
Joe,
Failed pension system? Fact or just more poorly formulated opinion? Not sure how you came up with the pension system has actually “failed” unless you are buying into poor reporting from some particular reporter(s) with pension envy. (I doubt I need to name names).
If you are looking for facts, perhaps you need to stop blaming others and blame your limited thinking of buying into some other BS -we have have all seen posted.
Did you have anything to do with the economy? What about those unsustainable home prices or those that used their home mortgages as ATMs? What about the banking industry or corporations that were putting their profits ahead of their employees? What about the stock market? While we are at it let’s throw all sports figures under the bus too! Let’s not forget how they are paid (for playing a game) and yet earn millions-hell, hundreds of millions in income. In case you haven’t figured it out, their pay doesn’t come from ticket sales. It comes from the products that you use as a consumer that they endorse, franchise fees, and all kinds of extra add ons. Think you have a say in that compensation system? Guess again.
I have figured this much out and maybe someday you will too. That pension that you are talking about for public safety. It is actually a little more than just a pension-it is the way the system is designed so that public safety can retire before they get too old to efficiently perform their jobs. Ever think about that? No one really wants to say it, but since you cannot discriminate against age there is little way of forcing workers out of a job. Like some of us here, you need to put 2 and 2 together. The pension system keeps TAX FREE workers comp. claims down and provides older employee’s an opportunity to retire before they get hurt or cannot perform, thus saving all of us a lot of money in the long run.
Reduce or eliminate pensions and you will have 70 year old cops and firefighters at your service. Yeah, that will save money!
Take your blinders off. It isn’t rocket science.
It is not a failed pension system just poorly planned. 10 years ago Gray Davis started this mess giving 3 at 30. (I am not saying it was right or wrong). Local communities followed that, but didn’t set aside the funds to cover the increase of their liabilities. For example if in 2000 you had 20 years on the job, you were looking at 2 at 30, but then it was increased to 3 at 30 and and local governments didn’t increase their pension contributions to take in account the increase. Then the economy tanks and the funds are not return a decent rate of return. What will happen is more will come out of the fund than what is going in. Local governments will be required to pay more out of their general fund and have less money for services.
Comments are closed.