The Kittitas County Fire District #7 Board of Fire Commissioners, consisting of three elected individuals, is responsible for governing the operations of the District. The board is generally responsible for the following areas:

1. Determining levels of service and establishing goals.
2. Determining type and level of funding, approve budgets, and tax levies.
3. Establishing policies and approving operational procedures.
4. Employing key personnel, supervising chief.
5. Guiding strategic planning.
6. Representing District to public

It is important to note that individual fire commissioners have no individual authority to operate a fire protection district. Instead, individual commissioners have the following responsibilities:

• Attend meetings of the board of commissioners.
• Educate themselves to understand the history of our District, the laws governing the operation of the District and the individual’s role in governing the District.
• Actively participate in the governance of the District by working with the board of commissioners in open public meetings.
• Understand and comply with all ethics laws.
• Act as a representative of your District with a professional demeanor.
• Avoid any attempts to unilaterally direct staff members or micromanage the staff. The board of commissioners runs the District through the Chief together, individual commissioners do not, and should not, attempt to run the District.
• Represent all constituents and avoid special interests. Maintain confidentiality of privileged or private District records and information

There are several ways to contact an individual Fire Commissioner to share your thoughts, and opinions or to simply ask questions. One, send an email to an individual commissioner, as listed on the web page and he or she will be sure other commissioners or staff are aware of your topic. You can call an individual commissioner and share your thoughts but please remember, an individual fire commissioner has no authority to operate any portion of the fire district; staff, facilities, equipment, or operational procedures in the field. With that said, know your thoughts and concerns will be taken into consideration and will be forwarded to the board or administrative staff for review.

All the members of the Fire District #7 board have other work commitments outside the duties of being a fire commissioner. If you want to meet with an individual commissioner, please find their email information on the website and contact them directly. If you just want to meet with a commissioner at-large, send an email to the current Board Chairman and they will make sure that you get a response. Please know that with Covid-19 regulations or suggested guidelines, these meetings may be by phone or virtual based.