Jeff Bowman today announced his resignation from San Diego Fire-Rescue Department after four years as chief, citing a lack of financial support for the department amid the city’s ongoing financial problems.

Bowman's resignation is effective June 30. According to news outlets, Mayor Jerry Sanders asked Bowman, 54, to reconsider but he declined.

Bowman’s frustration with the city’s fiscal conservatism is long standing. Soon after being hired in 2002, Bowman expressed concern over staffing levels and available resources.

Investigations done after the 2003 Cedar Fire, which destroyed more than 2,400 homes in San Diego County, cited those problems as a contributing factor in the difficulty controlling the blaze. Still, a 2004 bond measure to boost fire protection failed to pass.

Recently, the Commission on Fire Accreditation International declined to give the department a full accreditation, noting its failure to meet response time standards and staffing and equipment levels. To compensate for a low number of firefighters, the city has filled shifts by offering unlimited overtime.

In a statement, Bowman said he could not improve fire services in the country’s seventh-biggest city without an influx of resources.

The city faces a $1.4 billion pension fund deficit, a result of decisions by previous administrations to underfund the pension system while increasing benefits. County and federal prosecutors are investigating the city's finances.

"Given the magnitude of issues our new mayor is facing and trying to resolve, it is apparent that the city's current financial challenges may take years to resolve," his letter stated.

Bowman spent most of his 33-year career in the Anaheim (Calif.) Fire Department, becoming its chief in 1986.