Source: https://www.azag.gov/sgo-opinions/regulation-fire-district-boards?page=2
Timestamp: 2018-01-16 11:33:10
Document Index: 696136884

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 48', '§ 48', '§ 48', '§ 48', '§ 48', '§ 1', '§ 15', '§ 48', '§ 48', '§ 48']

Regulation of Fire District Boards | Page 3 | Arizona Attorney General
Regulation of Fire District Boards
Honorable Andy Tobin
If a fire district board member is related to an employee by affinity (marriage) or by blood relation (consanguinity within the third degree), may that board member serve out the term of his or her office or does Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 48-805.03 require the board member to resign? In the alternative, may the relative or spouse resign instead of the board member?
If a board member and an employee are spouses, either the board member or the employee must resign immediately. If a board member and an employee are related, but are not spouses, then the board member need not resign.
The requirement to complete training on “other matters that are reasonably necessary for the effective administration of a fire district” does not mandate any particular type of training. Any training will satisfy this requirement so long as it is reasonably connected to the district’s administration. Associations of Arizona fire districts therefore have discretion, but not unlimited discretion, to create training programs to satisfy this section.
No. A board member or newly hired fire chief may not use past training sessions to satisfy the training requirement in A.R.S. § 48-803(H).
Fire districts are political subdivisions of the State charged with providing fire services within specified areas. See generally A.R.S. § 48-805. Three-, five-, or seven member boards manage the districts. A.R.S. § 48-803(A). The board members are elected under the procedures outlined in A.R.S. § 48-802.
In 2013, the Legislature created a committee to study the performance of Arizona’s fire districts and to recommend ways in which the districts might be improved. See 2013 Ariz. Sess. Laws ch. 104, § 1. Based in part on these recommendations, the Legislature made a number of changes to the management of fire districts. See 2014 Ariz. Sess. Laws ch. 252 (S.B. 1387); see also Ariz. H.R., House Summary as Transmitted to the Governor for S.B. 1387, 51st Legis., 2d Reg. Sess. (4/23/14), at 1. These changes were deemed “emergency measure[s] . . . necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety” and went into effect immediately, on April 30, 2014, upon signature by the Governor. See 2014 Ariz. Sess. Laws ch. 252, § 15 (S.B. 1387)
There are two sets of provisions bearing on family relationships between board members and district employees. The first set of provisions governs spouses; the second set of provisions governs all other relatives.
1. If a board member is married to a district employee, either the board member or the employee must immediately resign.
Violating these provisions is also a class two misdemeanor. A.R.S. § 48-805.03(D).
These provisions are narrower than the employee-spouse provisions in subsection (B). Unlike subsection (B), subsection (A) does not criminalize mere service on the board when a family member is also an employee. Instead, it criminalizes only (1) directly appointing or voting for the appointment of family members at taxpayer expense; or (2) assisting in the appointment of someone else in exchange for the appointment of a family member. Because these provisions apply only to the initial “appoint[ment]” of non-spouse family members, they do not apply where the family-member employee has already been appointed. Accordingly, § 48-805.03(A) does not require board members who are related to non-spouse employees to resign their positions.
Similarly, subsection (J) allows any person to report a failure to comply with the training requirements. A county attorney may seek to remove a noncompliant fire chief or board member by filing an action in superior court. In determining whether to remove a board member or fire chief for failure to complete the training, the superior court will consider the scope of the word “reasonably.” It will also likely consider the fire district association’s expertise in the management of fire districts. Ultimately though, the superior court must apply its own judgment to determine what is “reasonably necessary for the effective administration of a fire district.” Cf. Chaney Bldg. Co., Inc. v. Sunnyside Sch. Dist. No. 12, 147 Ariz. 270, 273, 709 P.2d 904, 907 (App. 1985) (“‘[C]ourts need not defer to administrative expertise unless they are convinced that the administrator is reasonably exercising this expertise.’”) (quoting New Pueblo Constr., Inc. v. State, 144 Ariz. 95, 103, 696 P.2d 185, 193 (1985)). In sum, the statute gives fire district associations discretion to develop sufficient training programs, subject to oversight by county boards, and, ultimately, to a superior court’s determination that the training covered matters reasonably necessary to efficiently administer fire districts, based on the facts and circumstances.
C. Use of Past Training Sessions to Satisfy the Training Requirement in A.R.S. § 48-803(H).
Beginning with the 2014 general election . . . all persons who are elected or appointed to a fire district board and the fire chief who is appointed or hired by the district board shall attend professional development training that is provided by an association of Arizona fire districts. District board members and the fire chief shall complete at least six hours of professional development training, with board members completing their training within one year after the date of the certification of their election and for the fire chief, within one year after the date of hiring.
You asked whether board members and fire chiefs may use past training sessions to satisfy this requirement.
1. Board Members May Not Use Past Training Sessions to Satisfy the Training Requirement.
The statute provides that board members must complete their training “within one year after the date of the certification of their election.” Id. (emphasis added). Because this provision specifically requires board members to complete their training “after” their election, board members cannot count prior training hours toward their training requirement.
2. Newly Hired Fire Chiefs May Not Use Past Training Sessions to Satisfy the Training Requirement.