There’s no doubt Pete Scholz will be the Oxford Fire Department’s next chief as township officials last week reaffirmed they made the right decision.
‘I can’t tell you how many different chiefs said that (we’ve) made a wise choice,? said Treasurer Joe Ferrari.
At its July 9 meeting, the township board voted to direct Supervisor Bill Dunn to negotiate an employment contract with Scholz effective Nov. 1.
Jack LeRoy, the current fire chief, is planning to retire Oct. 31 after 37 years of service to Oxford with both the fire and police departments.
Scholz served with the department as a paid-on-call firefighter and officer from February 1976 until January 2008 when he was promoted to deputy chief, his current full-time position.
But the village council wasn’t pleased with the township’s quick decision to hire Scholz and it formally requested the opening for the chief’s position be advertised and a formal interview process be conducted in a manner that’s ‘full, open and public.?
Some village officials were concerned as to whether or not Scholz was qualified and experienced enough for the job.
Since then, Dunn and Ferrari spent some time talking about Scholz with six local fire chiefs from surrounding communities and with current fire personnel serving Oxford.
‘We’ve done a lot of due diligence,? Ferrari said. ‘We’ve not gotten a single bad review.?
Dunn and Ferrari also reviewed Scholz? personnel file and compared his qualifications with those used by the City of Mt. Clemens for its fire chief position.
‘Pete had all those,? Dunn said.
LeRoy told the board he recommended Scholz for the job because he wanted to see the ‘continuity of the department continued in a progressive manner.?
‘I thought that Pete would be the most viable candidate to do that,? he said. ‘There are a lot of young and rising stars within our department. In years to come, I think the community’s going to benefit from that. I think at this time Pete is the most qualified candidate for that position.?
For Trustee Pat Fitchena, it was LeRoy’s recommendation of Scholz that was the ‘strongest? point in his favor.
?(LeRoy) battles those fires with him daily and he’s known him since he was a rookie,? she said. ‘I think he’s going to do a great job and be a great chief.?
Officials are expected to review and vote on the proposed employment contract for Scholz at its Wednesday, Oct. 8 meeting.