MONROE — Mayor Donna Douglas has named four city aldermen to a new committee designed to assess and address lingering in issues in the Monroe Fire Department; and to consider major changes.

Those members, according to Douglas, are; Mary Jane Grenzow, Heidi Treutdhardt, Chris Schindler, and Tom Miller. The ad-hoc fire department “Operations and structure” committee was created after the council agreed more had to be done related to the fire department’s long-term woes.

They will work separately as the city’s Police and Fire Commission is continuing to the search for a new chief. Hiring for the chief’s job is actually the role of the police and fire commission, and some officials have complained about the pace of their effort; and the cost to find a replacement chief, which is financed by the city

Following a long search, Monroe’s most recent chief, William Erb of Iowa, abruptly resigned from his new post on Monday, April 11 — just 3 months and 1 day after taking the job. Once a new chief is hired, it will be the seventh person in charge of the department over the past seven years. PFC Chair Charles Koch has said the reason for the abrupt resignation of the newest Monroe chief “was directly related to the turmoil in the fire department.”

Beyond the chief vacancy, the department suffers from leadership woes, infighting and a lack of volunteers interested in serving. It has been the subject of numerous city council committees and studies in the past and officials have said the situation poses a public safety hazard.

It’s against that backdrop that city officials say they want to discuss changes, including the option of creating a joint fire district within the community, contracting out for the services and the possibility of forming a full-time department.