June 14--SAN JOSE -- San Jose Fire Chief William McDonald, who took over a department demoralized by layoffs and bitter fights with City Hall, announced he will leave after three years to become chief in Las Vegas.
The announcement came as San Jose continues to search for a new police chief after Chris Moore's January departure two years into the job and the city struggles with tight budgets, labor strife, management turnover and growing public safety concerns.
"This is a great organization, the people are awesome and I really loved my time here," McDonald said. "But this is a unique professional opportunity for me."
City Manager Debra Figone said McDonald "successfully nurtured productive relationships both within the department and with our residents during a period of great challenge and change that have been very helpful to protect and serve the people of our city."
McDonald, 55, plans to leave for his new job some time in late summer, after the Las Vegas City Council's expected ratification of his appointment next month. There was no word who might lead the department in the interim if a new chief isn't named by then.
But Figone said, "I am very confident that we have a strong team in place to lead our department through this transition until we select our next fire chief." San Jose spokesman David Vossbrink said that while McDonald's announcement was not expected, Figone "was aware of the interest" in hiring him and "knew he was in play."
McDonald called it the "pinnacle of my career" when San Jose in June 2010 announced he would be the city's new fire chief. At the time, McDonald had been chief in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he had overseen development of a municipal fire department in a city where fire protection had been provided by a private contractor. He said he had been familiar with San Jose's department through previous work as the chief in San Mateo, Foster City and Fremont.
San Jose hired McDonald after the retirement of former Chief Darryl Von Raesfeld, a department veteran of 33 years who endured a rocky relationship with the San Jose firefighters union.
Several issues drove tensions. The city was struggling to maintain service with a thinly staffed department while soaring retirement costs for firefighters and other employees led San Jose leaders to seek citywide pay and benefit cuts to patch chronic budget deficits. The battles with firefighters peaked the summer McDonald started when the city laid off 49 firefighters after the union refused city demands for 10 percent pay cuts from all employees. Later that year, Mayor Chuck Reed won voter approval to limit arbitration awards he blamed for saddling the city with unaffordable firefighter pensions.
The firefighters union was criticized as well in a 2009 civil grand jury report that accused union leaders of being needlessly hostile with city management.
After McDonald took over the department, the city secured a federal grant that allowed San Jose to rehire or fill the positions of the laid-off firefighters. With the city's finances recovering, San Jose's newly approved budget provides $8 million to keep those firefighters on the job as the federal grants expire.
But tensions remain. Firefighters, who have since taken the citywide pay cuts, have joined other San Jose unions in suing to block a mayor-sponsored ballot measure voters approved last year to reduce pension benefits, the cost of which Reed argues is devouring the city's budget.
The firefighters union blamed McDonald's departure on Reed and Figone.
"We wish Chief McDonald the best as he joins the hundreds of talented and experienced city employees that have chosen to leave San Jose to work for jurisdictions that respect and value their commitment to serving the public," said San Jose Firefighters President Robert Sapien. "The dismantling of our public safety infrastructure continues under this mayor and city manager and it is a shame."
But McDonald said it was about the opportunity to work for a department he sees on the cutting edge of the fire service in the 21st century, where firefighters will take on more of a role in medical care that can keep patients out of expensive hospital treatment. That's something that San Jose has just begun to explore, but it will require more changes to the current countywide emergency medical structure.
McDonald, who was to be paid $211,000 when he took the job and had a $199,000 salary last year -- taking home less pay than some battalion chiefs under him who can pad earnings with overtime -- also said he's not leaving for a pay raise, and he expects a lower salary in Las Vegas.
Figone credited McDonald with helping to secure the federal grants to maintain staffing amid a deep recession while doing more with less, including using a smaller "squad" unit to provide more flexible and efficient response to medical calls.
"Although I'm sad we're losing Willie to Las Vegas," Figone said, "I am grateful for his service to San Jose and excited for him and his new opportunities."
Contact John Woolfolk at 408-975-9346. Follow him at Twitter.com/johnwoolfolk1.
Copyright 2013 - San Jose Mercury News
