Teton commissioners to reclassify fire marshal role into deputy chief post

Teton County commissioners on April 7 are scheduled to consider reclassifying Jackson Hole Fire/EMS’ Battalion Chief–Fire Marshal position (currently Grade 9) into a new “Deputy Fire Chief of Prevention & Support Services” role (Grade 10). The goal, staff say, is to consolidate prevention, regulatory, facilities, IT and capital-project oversight under one executive leader as the department anticipates multiple station construction projects and manages nine facilities. Fire Department Reclassification Agenda Packet.

In the staff report, HR Manager Jasmine Kintzler writes that non-operational responsibilities — including facilities management, IT systems oversight, capital planning/construction and vendor coordination — are currently “informally divided” among the Battalion Chief–Fire Marshal, the Deputy Chief of Operations and the Fire Chief, creating unclear ownership and inconsistent approvals. The reclassification is framed as restoring a two–Deputy Chief structure used in the department’s past and by peer agencies. Fire Department Reclassification Agenda Packet.

The proposed Deputy Chief job description keeps the role as the county’s Fire Code Official and Fire Marshal, while explicitly assigning leadership across Fire Prevention, Fire Investigation, Electrical Safety, Wildfire Mitigation, capital facilities management and information technology, and requiring the position to support or assume incident command and act for the Fire Chief when needed. Fire Department Reclassification Agenda Packet.

Financially, staff estimate the grade change would increase wages and benefits by about $2,073.45 for the remainder of FY26, covered by existing salary savings, and by about $11,272 in FY27 and beyond to be built into the regular FY27 budget cycle. Fire Department Reclassification Agenda Packet.