PULLMAN, WA – The number three command position at the City of Pullman Fire Department will remain unfilled as the city grapples with a major budget shortfall.
The Assistant Chief of Support Services job has been empty since December when Andrew Chiavaras was promoted to the number two post in the department. Chiavaras is now the Assistant Fire Chief of Operations. He filled that role when Ryan Scharnhorst was permanently promoted to fire chief. The top post opened last year when Brett Nash quit as Pullman Fire Chief after just five months on the job.
The City of Pullman is dealing with a multi-million dollar budget shortfall. City council recently raised utility rates to help make up for some of the deficit. That move isn’t enough to balance the books so the city has implemented spending cuts. Those reductions include a hiring freeze for empty posts on a case-by-case basis.
City of Pullman spokeswoman Meghan Ferrin tells Pullman Radio News that Chief Scharnhorst decided to keep the assistant chief’s job empty in conjunction with Mayor Francis Benjamin and City Administrator Sean Wells. Ferrin notes that the duties of the empty officer post will continue to be covered by Chief Scharnhorst and Assistant Chief Chiavaras.
