Pay raises approved

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley Lake Fire District Board approved a $8,500 salary increase for Fire Chief Dave Lane at their Sept. 10 meeting. This was around half of what the Chief requested on the basis of the state average for fire chiefs, what he has accomplished since becoming the chief mid-April 2018 and his qualifications.

Lane’s annual salary was $55,000. In Montana, the average entry chief position is paid $50,000 and a senior chief is $88,000. Fire department paramedics make between $70,000-$110,000.

Lane was given a $5,000 raise at six months. He presented the board with two full pages of...