To a Majority of Firefighters

Starting in 1958, the size of the Fund’s Board of Trustees expanded from five to nine members. Whereas the board was originally composed of five members - the mayor, the city Treasurer, and three elected fire fighters - in 1957 the decision was made to increase the number of Board members for cities with populations of over 500,000. Since January 21, 1958, the Board has been composed of the Mayor or a representative, the city treasurer (now the city Finance and Administration Department director or his designee), five elected active firefighters and two citizen members. The increase in the size of the board allowed for better handling of the Fund, which had grown significantly since its inception. In addition, this expansion gave the firefighters greater control in running the Fund. Besides having greater representation, the board was officially chaired by a firefighter trustee. The firefighter board members represent the following categories:

• Position I : Firefighter or Engineer/Operator from the Suppression Division; · Position II : Captain from the Suppression Division; · Position III : District Chief, Deputy Chief, or Assistant Chief from the Suppression Division; · Position IV : Representative who devotes full-time to the Prevention and Investigation Division or who is permanently assigned to the Records Division or the Fire Chief’s office, and who is not a member of the Suppression Division; · Position V : Representative from the Fire Alarm Operators Division, or Repair Division. The first five firefighter members of this revamped board were Alcus Greer (chairman), C.P. Price (vice-chairman), S.M. Lowdermilk (secretary), Earl McWilliams and Wallace A. Whitley. In addition to the changes made to the board, several legislative advances were achieved in 1958. The most significant change in the pension program was that it became mandatory for all firefighters to enroll in the Fund when they joined the Fire Department. This rule ensured all firefighters of retirement and disability benefits so that no extra efforts would have to be made to care for other firefighters and their families in the case of retirement, disability or death.

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