“I've thought about this a couple times, and this seems like a pretty good time to take a break,” Steenberg said.
Several projects are coming to a close, he said. He oversaw the building of two new fire stations and the remodel of another. He negotiated a four-year agreement with the firefighters' union. With money tight, he said an easy budget year is on the horizon.
He joined the department in 1984 as a firefighter, according to a news release from the city. Steenberg moved up through the ranks and was appointed fire chief in March 2003.
In a statement, Mayor John Engen said he first got to know the chief when the mayor served as a councilman. He will miss Steenberg's leadership and his presence on the city's Administrative Leadership Team.
“As mayor, I've slept better every night knowing that Tom and his deep bench of dedicated, competent firefighters have the watch,” Engen said in the news release.
Steenberg said he does not have another job lined up and agreed the economy wasn't on the side of job-seekers. However, he said he wasn't going to postpone his retirement any longer, and, he said, “I can't work here forever.”
“I could wait another 10, 15 years until I keeled over. You could always talk yourself out of stuff,” he said.
The mayor and Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Bender will lead the search for a new chief and plan to consider internal candidates.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com
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Steve Marshall wrote on Nov 14, 2008 10:46 PM: