East Lake Fire and Rescue Chief Jeff Parks announced this week that he will retire Jan. 1 and confirmed that he will work for Pasco County's fire department as administrative services chief.

News of Parks' plans comes two weeks after East Lake Fire and Rescue commissioners unanimously agreed not to give Parks a contract. The decision essentially reversed a vote they had taken in October.

The no-contract vote dealt a blow to the chief's already floundering confidence in his job security.

"I'm beyond the point of fighting for my job all the time," Parks, 41, said Tuesday. "I thought I was doing a good job, I thought I was going to be offered a contract, and when that didn't happen, it was time to move on."

East Lake fire Commissioner Jim Galloway said the news came as a surprise.

"For the last month we had been working over a suggested work plan for the chief," Galloway said."So I took it to be that was the direction we would go."

But fire Commissioner Bill Cannon said the writing was on the wall.

"This was no surprise to me," Cannon said. "I think if I was in the same position and was working under the same conditions, I would have quit also."

Parks' resignation ends a conflict that has lasted two years.

In August 2003, commissioners Galloway, Chuck Dedman and Jim Nobles moved to place Parks on probation, citing poor performance. Others said it was Parks' refusal to terminate a firefighter who had upset the board that led to his being put on probation.

In May, the board decided not to renew Parks' contract and launched a replacement search a few months later. But in late September, as elections loomed, the board decided to give Parks a temporary contract until June. Commissioners reasoned that having a fire chief in place would make the transition easier if three new board members were elected.

Then Parks' name came up in a controversy over campaign contributions. Nobles resigned two weeks before the end of his term after his opponent complained that Nobles had tried to intimidate four fire department employees, including Parks, who had contributed to the opponent. State election officials later concluded that the complaint was legally insufficient. Nobles was re-elected Nov. 2.

This month's vote to withhold Parks' contract was a compromise made by a divided board.

Dedman, Galloway and Nobles said they could not approve a contract with Parks' salary of $85,000 before a thorough performance review. They also were troubled by a provision in the contract Parks proposed that would have required at least four of the five members to vote to terminate him.

Commission Chairman Tom McKone and Cannon said they voted to make Parks an "at-will" employee - that is, an administrator without a contract - because other commissioners had proposed drastically cutting Parks' pay and benefits.

With Parks' departure, he will receive a payout for unused sick leave and vacation time totaling $152,810, said Robin A. Alves, financial administrator for the district. With 20 years of service, Parks will also be eligible to collect a pension when he turns 55.

Parks will take the No. 3 spot at Pasco County Fire Rescue as the administrative services chief on Jan. 3, earning $63,470 a year. He will be responsible for budgeting, purchasing and supplies for the 380-employee agency.

"To me, it's kind of a promotion: there's 25 stations, and they're building more, and hiring more people, so I'm not looking at it as a demotion, but a challenge to go to do bigger and better things," said Parks, who lives in Pasco County with his wife and 10- year-old son.

The coverage area is considerably larger than East Lake's: Pasco County spans 782 square miles and has roughly 375,000 residents, compared with East Lake's approximately 33,000 residents and 33 square miles.

Parks replaces Allan McCray, the administrative chief who retired in March after 27 years with Pasco County.

"We just thought (Parks) had a real good background, a good temperament," said Barbara DeSimone, Pasco County's personnel director. "We thought he'd fit in well with the organization."

Parks came to work for East Lake in the early 1980s as a firefighter. He became chief in 2001, after former Chief Ron Taylor retired.

During his tenure, Parks was instrumental in constructing two new firehouses and increasing staff.

"When we started, there were about 10 people on staff. Now we're up to 38," Parks said. "I've always tried to do things as professionally as I can, and I feel I'm respected by others in the community."