Exit May Ease For KC Chief

A financial deal is being worked out at city hall to allow Kansas City’s fire chief to retire early and with benefits.

City Council’s Finance Committee has given the green light.

You need 25 years of service to retire as Kansas City chief. Smokey Dyer has eleven. His given name is Richard  but is universally known as “Smokey.”

Should he decide to retire after a bitter, budget cutting battle about his department, Dyer would benefit from the new retirement option, if the City Council approves it tomorrow.

City Attorney  Galen Beaufort says the fire department is unique, the same package won’t have to be offered other department heads-- “all of the directors, other than fire chief, would fall into the employee retirement system. There is not a 25 year service requirement in the employees’ retirement system.”

Any suggestion of retirement, though, takes back-seat to $7.5 million worth of changes in the fire department that will be outlined by Dyer to the Council tomorrow.