Crime & Safety

Sac Metro Fire Chief Named 'Fire Chief of the Year'

Fire Chief Kurt Henke earned the award from the California Fire Chiefs Association.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Chief Kurt Henke has earned the title of "Fire Chief of the Year," an award from the California Fire Chiefs Association. 

From Sac Metro Fire:

Since joining Metro Fire in 2009, Chief Henke has tirelessly worked to improve our District’s efciency, reduce unfunded liability, and explore ways to reform pension and medical costs.

Having a balanced fiscal approach and reducing unfunded liability has been especially crucial. Under Chief Henke’s lead, Metro Fire has taken the region’s most aggressive stance on cost-sharing for unfunded liabilities. With collaborative Labor/Management relations, he was able to negotiate a comprehensive reform including the prefunding of retiree healthcare.

Leading by example in the reduction of Management compensation assisted with negotiating employee compensation concessions. Prior to Governor Brown’s pension reform, Metro Firefighters were contributing 12% of their salary towards pension costs and pension accounts were funded above recommended levels.

Earning the Fire Chief of the Year Award is a testament to Chief Henke’s forward thinking and focus on improving efciency. His leadership has allowed us at Metro Fire to avoid further service reductions and improve our service to the public. 

This award was last received by a Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Chief in 2003 by then Fire Chief Rick Martinez.


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