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City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: CONSENT CALENDAR
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: October 20, 2025
Report #:2510-5287
TITLE
Approval of Appointment and Employment Agreement with Stephen Lindsey as Fire Chief; CEQA Status – Not a Project
RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends that Council confirm the appointment of Stephen Lindsey as Fire Chief and approve his employment agreement (Attachment A).
BACKGROUND
The Palo Alto Charter and Municipal Code establish the City Manager as the appointing authority for all officers, department directors, and employees under the City Manager’s control. The Charter and Municipal Code additionally specify that the City Manager’s appointments of department heads are subject to approval of the Council.1 Employment terms or benefits not included in the Council-approved Compensation Plan for Management and Professional Personnel require Council approval.
Discussion
The City Manager presents for confirmation the appointment of Stephen Lindsey to the position of Fire Chief. Lindsey started with the Palo Alto Fire Department in 2005 and has held positions of Firefighter, Apparatus Operator, Fire Captain, and Fire Investigator before being promoted into the role of Battalion Chief in 2019. In 2021, Lindsey took on an acting assignment as a Deputy Chief and Fire Marshall before being formally promoted to Deputy Chief in 2022. Lindsey holds a B.A. in Political Science from San Jose State University with a minor in Sociology. Lindsey has also completed the International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Service Executive Development Institute, the National Fire Academy – Strategic Organizational Leadership (Published work), Stanford Local Governance institute, and Leadership Palo Alto 1 Municipal Code Section 2.08.020
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among other fire-specific trainings, certifications, and education. Lindsey was closely involved with the most recent round of successful labor negotiations with the International Association of Fire Fighters as part of the City’s appointed negotiating team and last year oversaw the successful recruitment of 12 new Firefighter personnel joining the department. As Deputy Chief of the operations division, Lindsey is overseeing the implementation of temporary cross staffing of Station 4, worked on the development of single role job classification and developing pilot staffing models.
Lindsey was selected as a result of an extensive national search of highly skilled and qualified Fire Executives conducted by Teri Black & Associates, the City’s Human Resources Department, and the City Manager’s Office. The City began planning the recruitment for Fire Chief in early 2025 when current Chief Geo Blackshire announced his plans to retire near the end of 2025.
The City’s outreach strategy was to reach highly qualified and dedicated Fire leaders and executives who align with Palo Alto’s need for someone skilled and experienced with wildland- urban interface, EMS transportation including 201 rights, addressing and anticipating climate impacts, and engaging with a highly educated, informed, and engaged community. The City invested in advertising with relevant government and affinity group-focused job boards, the City of Palo Alto’s website with a dedicated page, and direct mailing outreach to top Fire leaders and executives nationwide. This outreach resulted in 39 submissions with 13 candidates being preliminarily selected for supplemental interviews.
The selection and screening process included:
1) Experience, education, and training review of submitted candidate materials and phone screen of best-qualified applicants.
2) Multiple panel interviews included current Fire Chiefs from local regional agencies, subject matter experts from partner agencies, Department stakeholders, and members of the City Executive Leadership Team.
3) The City Manager and Assistant City Manager conducted final interviews with the top candidates.
Lindsey will be an “At-Will” employee, which means Lindsey will serve at the discretion of the City Manager and can be terminated or asked to resign at any time. Lindsey’s annual salary will be $366,912 which is within the Council-approved salary range for the Fire Chief position. The employment agreement includes eligibility for up to 24 weeks of severance, which is commensurate with other highly responsible executive positions.
All other benefits offered are consistent with the Compensation Plan for Management and Professional Personnel.
Lindsey’s appointment will be effective on November 1, 2025. 8 3
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FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
The Fire Chief position is included in the FY 2026 Adopted Budget. No budget modifications or additional funding are necessary.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Human Resources Staff along with Teri Black and Company strategized with the City Manager’s office in early May to kickoff this recruitment process. Shortly thereafter, meetings followed with the current Fire Chief and Fire Department leadership teams. On May 27, 2025, ahead of attending the City’s Finance committee, staff launched a dedicated web page and community engagement survey to gather additional input on community priorities. On June 3, 20253, staff attended the Finance committee meeting to gain feedback, and on June 26, 2025, staff met with labor groups representing the Fire Department. Input from these various stakeholders were all summarized and included in the candidate brochure.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because approving an appointment and employment agreement is an organizational activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Employment Agreement with Stephen Lindsey APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager
3 Finance Committee Meeting June 3, 2025 Agenda Item Number 1:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=16128