The Evans Valley Fire District Board of Directors appeared to reach an agreement with Chief Tom Davidson in negotiating the chief’s contract at its Thurs., June 18 meeting.
The board approved changes to Section 13 of the contract, which deals with discipline and discharge.
Director Jesse Meinerts asked if, on a clause regarding proposed termination for cause, the word “shall” could be replaced by “may,” because ‘shall’ sounds like it’s a ‘we have to do this’ process.”
Davidson said he preferred keeping the word “shall”.
“That would give me a chance to correct any deficiencies outlined by the board,” he said. “If you look at our progressive discipline policy, depending on the defense, you don’t have to go, ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5.’ You can go from one to, you can go straight to ‘five,’ put on leave.”
Meinerts said he could agree with that, that the topic was similar to a discussion he had been having at his own workplace.
During the board’s May meeting, it discussed Section 13 in greater detail, including progressive discipline and severance pay.
The board’s approval of changes agreed on during the June meeting finalized the contract just ahead of the July 1 deadline.
The board approved the 2026-27 budget, amended to account for $3,498,463 in amounts paid in June, up from $3,445,119.
“That is less than a 10-percent adjustment, so we are within legal means to do so,” Davidson said. “I wanted to point that out, why the numbers on the left aren’t the same as the numbers on the right. That’s because we’re going to start the year with more money.”
This included an increase in its general fund revenue from $1,398,865. The district’s May revenue of $13,683.61 gave the district “a little over $85,000 more in revenue” than what was projected for the year, the chief said. He added that there would be excesses in its Personal Services (payroll, benefits) and Materials and Services (equipment, supplies, insurance), totaling $19,475.37, which will help its cash-on-hand going into the next fiscal year.
“We’ll have a higher beginning fund balance going into next year,” he said. “Our original approved budget amount was $510,365, and I’m actually projecting we’re going to be $567,235.”
He said that was a 2.3-percent increase from the 2024-25 year. The additional funding from the Beginning Fund Balance is transferred to the Operating Contingency fund, increasing it from $207,029 to $263,899.
Davidson announced that the recommendation of a committee responsible for scoring construction companies bidding to perform the seismic retrofit on the Evans Valley fire station was for Ausland Construction in Grants Pass, and the board accepted it.
The district had received its Engagement Letter from Richard Brewster, CPA, who prepares the district’s annual audit. Davidson said the audit fee has increased from $13,500 to $15,000.
It also received its annual contract amount from Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon (ECSO), for $28,425.65. The contract amount for Jackson County Fire District No. 1 in Rogue River is $81,711.02.
The chief said the department had been busy in May, with 46 calls, bringing the total to 220 for the year so far, including four fires, 22 medical calls, and 10 mutual aid requests.
The department had recently, on Sat., June 13, hosted a town hall to present information on the Evans Valley Community Resource Center and the capital project to raise the $2.2 million.
The fire department was recently voted the Charitable Service Organization for 2025 by members of the Rogue River Chamber of Commerce, as announced during the chamber’s Installation and Awards Banquet on May 30.
Reach reporter Brian Mortensen at [email protected] or 541-582-1707.