Brighton Fire Authority Decides Compensation Package for New Fire Chief

The Brighton Area Fire Authority (BAFA) approved the compensation package that it will offer Michael O'Brian as the next Brighton fire chief in a 6-1 vote Thursday morning.

Members approved an annual salary of $98,000 with a seven percent, or $7,000, benefits package. Also included in the package are 26 days vacation time.

Current Fire Chief Larry Lane will retire Feb. 3. Fire Authority members said O'Brian's salary was dead on with that of former fire chief Marty DeLoach before he was fired in 2009.

BAFA Chairperson Lana Theis cast the lone dissenting vote, saying she would have started the salary lower and increased it gradually over time.

"I would have made steps going through benchmarking and increased the salary as he hits full status," Theis said. "This has absolutely nothing to do with Mike. I think he's emminently qualified for the job. I'm very, very excited that he's taking the position."

Larry Schillinger, also a Brighton City council member, was on the committee that interviewed people for the fire chief position.

"I think we've got the cream of the crop," he said about the job candidates. "That's just my opinion."

O'Brian said he was very pleased with the Fire Authority's proposal.

Lane thanked the Fire Authority for supporting O'Brian, who currently acts as the department's deputy chief.

"He's got a lot of good ideas coming forward to take the organization to the next generation," Lane said. "He's already expressed ideas to me that I think will be very beneficial to the organization as a whole."

One of those ideas is self assessment to meet the national standard for firefighting. O'Brian said he wants the department to receive accreditation, something no other department in Livingston County currently has.

O'Brian said that less than 10 communities in Michigan have even gone after the accreditation.

"It's a pretty big cumbersome project but it's taking our organization and going to make so much better so we'll be better prepared," he said. "We're already doing a lot of it."