Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011 | 9:34 p.m.
The cash-strapped North Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved an agreement Wednesday to consolidate the city’s firefighter training with Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.
“It saves us using our facility and spreading out costs,” said Michelle Bailey-Hedgepeth, assistant to the city manager. “Las Vegas has an excellent training facility, and it’s a great opportunity for both agencies to do more cooperative training.”
The Las Vegas City Council is still discussing the agreement, which would require Las Vegas to pay a $30,885 raise for an assistant chief to oversee the joint training operations.
North Las Vegas Fire Services Coordinator Tim Sendlebach has been nominated to act as the new shared services training chief. His salary and benefits would increase from $126,039 to $156,924 a year, according to the agreement.
The agreement is set for final action Sept. 7 by the Las Vegas City Council.
North Las Vegas officials could not say how much money the consolidation is expected to save.
Bailey-Hedgepeth said the two cities starting talking about more cooperative agreements five months ago. North Las Vegas officials hope the partnership will allow for more money-saving agreements in the future.
North Las Vegas Fire Chief Al Gillespie said the two fire departments already respond to calls together, and coordinating training is a logical next step.
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