PERRY -- City council delayed a decision Tuesday on the selection of a new police chief.
Mayor Jimmy Faircloth said after a called meeting that council members wanted some time to think about it after re-interviewing the two finalists separately in closed session.
The decision is between Steve Lynn, an investigator for the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, and J.T. Ricketson, a GBI special agent in charge of the Middle Georgia Regional Drug Enforcement Office in Milledgeville.
The opening was created by the June retirement of George Potter as director of public safety.
Faircloth said a meeting is expected to be called for 5 p.m. Dec. 20 for council members to make a decision. However, the meeting is tentative, based on whether one of the council members can make it due to the length of a relative’s recovery from a medical procedure, the mayor said.
Lynn has served 33 years in public safety, while Ricketson’s career with the GBI has spanned 28 years,
Before joining the district attorney’s office, Lynn served as a captain supervising property and evidence at the Warner Robins Police Department, according to his résumé. He moved up through the ranks at the department, starting in patrol in 1981. He served three years before that as a patrol officer for the U.S. Army Military Police Corps at Fort Stewart. Lynn has lived in Houston County for most of his life.
Ricketson has served in his current position as a GBI special agent in charge since November 2003, according to his résumé. He previously served as GBI Academy director. Ricketson also moved up the ranks in the GBI, having started as a narcotics agent.
He is also a part-time adjunct professor of criminal justice at Macon State College.
Ricketson and his wife previously lived in Perry when first married in 1987.
Contacted by telephone after Tuesday’s meeting, Ricketson said, “I’m glad they’re taking their time because it’s an important decision.”
Also reached later by telephone, Lynn noted the professionalism of the search process and said that he looked forward to the next part of it.
Lynn and Ricketson were chosen from a narrowed field of six candidates that city leaders interviewed for the post. The six came from eight candidates recommended by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, which conducted the job search for the city. In all, 27 had applied for the post, according to Perry City Manager Lee Gilmour.
To contact writer Becky Purser, call 256-9559.
