Next Fire Chief To Report To Council

The next fire chief will serve at the will of the City Council as the result of action taken at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The City Council voted to modify its civil service regulations. One of the changes means that the fire chief will be hired on contract with the council.

In the past, the fire chief was hired and fired according to the same civil service rules governing most city employees.

The other most significant change in the civil service rules is an extension of the probationary period for new police officers from a year to 18 months. That change was necessary because field training and academy training consumed most of a new officer’s first year, City Attorney Jeff Jones said.

The new rules will give supervisors more time to evaluate new police officers after they are trained.

The council also selected Nancy Sue Wallace as council president for the second year in a row. , DataTimes