Volunteer firefighters say proposed changes to the Prince George’s County fire commission are a power grab by the county’s new fire chief that would strip the commission of its budget authority.
The current composition of the nine-member, volunteer board is outdated and needs more diverse representation, according to County Executive Rushern Baker.
Baker issued an executive order on Sept. 19 to reorganize the commission’s makeup to include three volunteers, three career firefighters and three civilians. Commission members would be nominated, rather than elected from the volunteer ranks.
A companion bill, introduced by Baker on Tuesday, would strip the commission of its budgetary control, but leave the commission intact in an advisory role to Fire Chief Marc Bashoor.
It would also create a new deputy fire chief of human resources, to be selected from the county’s volunteers.
Dozens of volunteer firefighters crowded the council chambers on Tuesday to protest Baker’s maneuver, which they say is another step toward degrading the roles of the 1,300 volunteer firefighters serving in the county.
Officials with the Prince George’s County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association say they’ve dutifully managed their 8 percent portion of the county’s fire budget for over four decades. The commission handles about $11 million of the county’s fire and emergency management budget, and twice annually files information to the county Office of Management and Budget for audit.
Baker’s executive order will take effect on Nov. 15, unless the County Council takes a majority vote against the measure.
