After nearly 25 years with Gainesville Fire Rescue, Fire Chief Bill Northcutt will resign this month to work with the Alachua County Fire Rescue.
Northcutt’s current salary with the city is $113,061. As Alachua County’s chief of fire rescue operations and deputy director of the Department of Public Safety, his salary with the county will be $107,000 a year.
The slight decrease will be offset by pension benefits as well as valuable personal and professional gains, Northcutt said.
“I think it provides me a lotof opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise have,” he said. “Salary is not everything.”
He will oversee services the city doesn’t supply, such as supervising ambulance and emergency medical transport.
Northcutt, 53, has been Gainesville’s fire chief for more than four years and the deputy for about six.
“Prepare yourself for where you want to be so that you’re ready when the opportunity comes,” Northcutt said. “Because if you’re not ready, you won’t be able to take advantage when it comes your way.”
