GILROY
– The City of Gilroy could lose its fire chief to San Jose. Jeff
Clet is one of three finalists for the job of chief of the San Jose
Fire Department, a job his father held for seven years.
Clet himself worked for the SJFD for roughly two decades before
Gilroy hired him as chief two years ago.
GILROY – The City of Gilroy could lose its fire chief to San Jose. Jeff Clet is one of three finalists for the job of chief of the San Jose Fire Department, a job his father held for seven years.
Clet himself worked for the SJFD for roughly two decades before Gilroy hired him as chief two years ago.
Clet said Thursday he felt a strong affiliation to his old department, but his decision to apply for San Jose’s top fire department spot was “absolutely not” an indication he’s having problems with his Gilroy post.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. I love it here, and there’s absolutely nothing I dislike about this job. It’s everything I expected and more,” Clet said. “I think it’s understandable many former colleagues in San Jose encouraged me to help out and throw my hat into the ring.”
The San Jose city manager’s office has narrowed its search to three people, according to Peter Jensen, assistant to City Manager Del Borgsdorf. Borgsdorf and his staff are not releasing the finalists’ names until they present the candidates to the City Council, Jensen said. According to San Jose city and news reports, the two other finalists are acting San Jose chief Dale Foster and retired Houston chief Chris Connealy.
The Council’s schedule would prevent this presentation from taking place any time in the next couple of weeks, Jensen said, but it would happen “sometime relatively soon after that.”
The filing deadline to apply for the fire chief job was three months ago – Nov. 24, 2003. Pay range for the fire chief position is $122,034 to 185,390, according to the City of San Jose Employee Services devision.
Clet, 44, told Gilroy City Administrator Jay Baksa a couple weeks ago that he was a candidate, Baksa said.
“He did inform me that he had been asked to interview for that position,” Baksa said Wednesday
Baksa declined to say what Gilroy officials would do if Clet leaves but said they have not yet started looking for a possible replacement.
“We’ll leave that up to Jeff and see what he decides to do,” Baksa said. “If, in fact, he accepts the position, which I’m sure he would do with a great deal of thought, then we’ll take it from there. … Until then, there’s no sense in speculating.”
Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro said he had heard of Clet’s possible departure but has not yet talked to the chief about it.
“I would hate to see him go,” Pinheiro said. “I understand he has to make decisions based on what’s best for his family. … If there’s anything we could do for him to stay here, I think that would be appropriate.”
When asked what city officials could do to keep Clet, Pinheiro answered, “I have no idea.
“We’ll have to deal with it if he gets number one,” Pinheiro added. “If he doesn’t, he’ll be here.”
Clet’s departure comes just two months before the Gilroy Fire Department completes a new master plan and only days before it fights to keep autonomy from regional fire departments. The state’s Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) will consider Feb. 11 requiring more joint services between fire departments in the region.
Clet said if he is granted and accepts the San Jose job, Gilroy’s department would be left in good hands. Another former San Jose Fire Department official, Geoff Cady, is managing the master plan process, and Baksa is on top of the LAFCO matter.
Clet started work as Gilroy’s fire chief on Feb. 18, 2002, replacing interim Chief Hugh Holden and, before him, Art Gillespie, who retired in 2001 after more than 16 years as chief. Clet beat out 30 other applicants for the job.
Clet was a division chief with the SJFD at the time and took a pay cut to switch to Gilroy, despite the fact that it was a promotion in rank. He made $130,000 a year as a San Jose division chief but started as Gilroy’s chief at a salary of $120,600.
Yet Clet had called Gilroy home for 15 years at the time and said he had set down roots here. His son graduated from Gilroy High School in 2001, and his daughter is a senior there now.
“I plan to spend the rest of my career in Gilroy,” Clet said at a press conference upon accepting the job in early 2002. “It’s more than just a professional opportunity; it’s personal.”
Clet inherited a Gilroy Fire Department needing to expand to meet the growing city’s safety needs. Under his watch, the GFD added fire/paramedic service a year ago, going immediately from the worst medical service of any city in the county to the best.
The GFD also this past year began building a long-planned third fire station in the city’s northwest quad, set to open this spring. Two-person teams – a captain and a paramedic on each – started working out of a trailer next to the new station this summer. During the following three months, the GFD’s response times to medical emergencies in the northwest quad dropped by two minutes, not including cases those two staff could not handle alone, such as heart attacks or when someone is not breathing.
Clet has 25 years of experience in firefighting, beginning in Merced County and Milpitas before he took the job in San Jose.
Clet’s family history in Bay Area public safety runs deep. His father, Vince, was a 25-year veteran of the SJFD, including seven years as chief. His grandfather was a San Francisco police officer. His son, Steven, has volunteered with the GFD and has worked seasonally with California Department of Forestry firefighters.
