Whithorn

BACKGROUND

Whithorn was hired by City Fire Department when he was 21 years old. Over the next 28 years he worked as a firefighter/paramedic, fire engineer, fire captain, assistant chief and chief; in 2014 he was hired as fire chief. As fire chief, Whithorn supervised the department and staff, managed day-to-day operations, acted as a liaison with other departments, maintained the fire department’s budget, made presentations to the city council, and oversaw fire suppression, fire prevention and

1 This amount consists of $990,103 in past economic loss; $587,643 in future economic loss; $1,980,206 in past noneconomic loss; and $587,643 in future noneconomic loss.

2 medical response for the community. Managing the budget was particularly challenging because over 90 percent of the budget was devoted to salaries, leaving less than 10 percent of the budget to cover other expenses such as supplies (IVs for paramedics, fuel for vehicles) and vehicle maintenance. At one point, Whithorn was mandated to cut his budget by 10 percent, but 92 percent of his budget was untouchable, so even if he had stopped funding supplies and maintenance, he still could not have achieved the 10 percent cut.…