New Cedar Rapids fire chief may be named Tuesday night

The city may know who its new fire chief is on Tuesday evening. That's when the City Council is slated to vote on City Manager Jim Prosser's choice for the new chief.

Under the City Charter, the city manager names the police chief and the fire chief with the advice and consent of the council.

Mayor Ron Corbett on Monday afternoon said Prosser's pick as chief as agreed to take the job with or without Prosser.

The chief's post has been filled on an interim basis by Mark English, assistant fire chief, since Fire Chief Steve Havlik retired at the end of February after 12 years in the job.

English had been on a list of seven candidates to replace Havlik.

The three finalists are Scott Goodwin, division chief, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.; Stephen Reid, president/CEO of Stephen M. Reid and Associates, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm, and past deputy chief of emergency medical services in Washington, D.C.; and Cedar Rapids District Fire Chief Brian Giachino.

Hiring a fire chief is something of a delicate matter in Cedar Rapids because Brud Gorman, the outsider hired as chief in the years before Havlik's tenure, had plenty of conflicts with the local firefighters union.

However, Rick Scofield, a fire captain who retires on Wednedsay but who will remain as the head of the local firefighters union, has recently complimented Prosser for the process he has used to come up with a fire chief.

“I don't think the vetting process was done property,” Scofield said of the process used to hire Gorman.

“I'm comfortable right now with the way the vetting process is going now,” Scofield continued. “Our city manager is doing his homework and research.

“I'm involved in that a little bit, and I have a committee of firefighters involved in that. So I'm confident we're going to get the best person for the job. I've met them all (all the candidates), and I like them all. I liked every one of them.”

Last week, Prosser said he intended to meet with the firefighter committee on Friday, April 9, before the council vote on Tuesday.