Executive Editor - CALL NEWSPAPERS
Last of two parts
April 29, 2009 - Newly named Administrative Chief Fire Officer Tim White envisions the Mehlville Fire Protection District as a "premier" fire district.
That vision corresponds to the direction the three-member Board of Directors — Chairman Aaron Hilmer, Treasurer Bonnie Stegman and Secretary Ed Ryan — wish to take the district.
"When Mr. Hilmer, Mrs. Stegman and Mr. Ryan had faith in me and my vision for this fire district, I took that as a great compliment," White told the Call. "They required a great deal of me and my vision and my plan for this fire district in the interest of the taxpayers. They're very conscientious about the people that live here and they don't take it lightly. So I took it as a great compliment and honor, knowing what they wanted to do, that they felt that my vision should be awarded with the chief's position ...
"The taxpayers of this community deserve the best. They've always deserved the best because they've always supported this fire district and built it what it is today. My vision is to take this fire department forward into the 21st century and make it a premier fire department that everyone will know that the Mehlville Fire Protection District, as far as firefighters, would be the place to be, and the people in the community can say proudly this is my fire department. I have high expectations. I demand excellence. Subpar is not an option. The people deserve the best and the people will get the best."
The board earlier this month selected White to be Chief Jim Silvernail's successor. The board voted unanimously April 14 to name White to the newly created post of administrative chief fire officer in which he'll work alongside Silvernail, whose con-tract ends in April 2010.
White, a firefighter/emergency medical technician who has been employed by the district since June 1985, was named captain in December. A lifelong resident of south county, White and his wife, Lynn, have two grown children.
As administrative chief fire officer, White will be paid $100,000 and retain his current benefits, according to Hilmer.
White will handle the administrative side of the district while Silvernail will continue working in fire operations.
The 49-year-old White has spent roughly half his life as a firefighter, following in the footsteps of his late father, James. His father was a charter member of Mehlville Local 1889 of the International Association of Fire Fighters and retired as a captain from Mehlville.
Last year, as a lawsuit between Local 1889 and the board dragged on over changing the district's pension plan, White made the difficult decision to resign his union membership and asked the Board of Directors to consider a six-point proposal involving pension and other benefits for employees. Though White's efforts were unsuccessful, the lawsuit over the board's decision to change the pension plan from a defined-benefit plan to a defined-contribution plan was settled late last year.
White said he envisions having a good working relationship with Local 1889.
"I think we're at a juncture where members of the union are ready to rise up and they want to go forward," he said. "They're all excellent people. They're top-notch, cutting-edge individuals. They need a vision. They need to know that they're secure and they need to know that they can be the best firefighter and paramedic that they possibly always dreamt of being.
"As far as working with them, I don't look at them as union members. I look at them as firefighters and paramedics who just like myself was that little boy with a dream that wanted to be a firefighter or a paramedic with the only desire to help people in need, to be the one that can come to their aid in the most chaotic and most tragic situations and put themselves at risk for the greater good of people. It's all about public service. It's all about people. It's all about helping people and I think that they're ready to move in that direction.
"They're tired of it. They want to help people and they're excellent. They want to do their job with excellence and they do do it with excellence. It's just that they need the vision. They need the leadership and they need the direction. That's all they need."
Asked what employees can expect from him, White said, "There's a firm hand at the helm. I demand excellence. I want them to be the best person they can possibly be. I want them to grow. I want them to see their own vision within my vision and those two visions will come together to make that premier fire department that I was talking about. I want them to feel secure. I want them to know that they're going to be taken care of just as the taxpayers want them to be taken care of. I want them to know that they have a home here and they will be proud of their profession just like they always wanted to."
White has been meeting individually with employees and has received a warm reception from them.
"The ones that I have talked to are excited," he said. "Those are the individuals that are ready to grow. Those are the individuals who are striving for excellence. So I'm excited about that."
Silvernail has done a tremendous job over the past four years, Hilmer said, noting White will continue that progress.
"What I want to make clear is Tim White talks about taking the district in this direction (forward). The district is already going in that direction. Chief Silvernail started it," he said. "He (White) is just going to continue it. I want to be very clear on that. The district is not going in a different direction under Tim. It's just going in a further direction."
White said, "This isn't about politics when I mentioned the names of the Board of Directors. It's about a group of people who went to the community that had a vision and Mr. Hilmer, Mrs. Stegman and Mr. Ryan promoted me with a directive.
"They want me to use what the taxpayers have given us and build a premier fire department. With the quality people here in the department and under my direction with my staff, this will be accomplished."
