Centerville draws from Bibb campus police for new chief

CENTERVILLE -- Ronald Rodgers is Centerville's new chief of police.

Centerville City Council voted unanimously to appoint Rodgers chief during a special meeting Thursday.

Rodgers, 48, said he will begin the new role March 2 after leaving his current position. He is a captain with the Bibb County Board of Education Police Department.

Rodgers was hired by the Bibb County school district in 2012, according to a district newsletter. It said Rodgers had previously served as chief of police in Marshallville, worked with the Fort Valley State University Police Department and had been a member of the Macon Police Department.

In addition, it said he had served as an armed forces military police commander.

Councilman Micheal Evans, who provides oversight for Centerville's police department for the council, made the recommendation to appoint Rodgers. He said Rodgers' law enforcement career spanned 22 years, including his stint with Macon police from 1993 to 2009.

Evans said the search for a chief began in October and drew 13 applicants. Five were selected for interviews by a hiring panel that included Evans, Perry Police Chief Steve Lynn and Frank Strickland, the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Police Department's acting chief.

Evans said he believes the panel's choice is a good one.

"In my mind, the reason Rodgers is our top choice is that he's well experienced and will be able to communicate with officers and citizens alike," he said. "He has a lot of great plans to make the police department better for the city and for our citizens."

Evans said plans expressed by Rodgers included "not just sitting behind a desk" but being involved in the community and "getting out there and talking to people."

"He's a people person," Evans said.

Rodgers will begin as chief with a $60,000-a-year salary and be on one-year probation, Evans said. After that his salary will increase to $62,000, and he will go on the city's regular pay schedule.

Rodgers is a resident of Macon. His wife, Lori Rodgers, works for the Bibb school district.

Rodgers said he is excited about taking on the challenge.

"I'm looking forward to, thrilled and thankful to be part of Centerville and the city's staff and its officials," he said. "There's so much experience here, and I look forward to learning from them and vice versa. It's bittersweet leaving the schools because I've gotten to know so many great students, faculty and staff, but it's great to get to come to Centerville."

Evans said he believes a good chief is willing to teach and to learn from his officers.

"I believe I have a lot of great ideas to bring to the department, but I'll be talking to the officers to get their ideas too," he said. ... "I want to hear them and have us work together to make it the best police department it can be."

According to a Centerville news release, Rodgers has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from FVSU and master's degree in public safety administration from Columbus State College. He is a 2014 graduate of the Columbus State Command College.

Centerville has been without a chief since June 2015, when Sidney Andrews resigned.

In the interim, the council made several attempts, some stirring controversy, to provide leadership at the department, culminating in a member of the Houston County Sheriff's Office taking the helm temporarily until mid-December.

Mayor John Harley said hiring Rodgers as chief provided a "huge sense of relief."

"We have good officers here in Centerville and they need a good chief. I believe they have one," he said. "We looked into all the applicants very closely and I believe we have the best choice and someone who fits our city. I believe he'll be with us a long time. That's what we want."

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Centerville draws from Bibb campus police for new chief ."