Macon-Bibb department head positions could be selected next week
Seven high-ranking Macon-Bibb County jobs could be filled next week.
County commissioners are scheduled to receive a list of finalists Tuesday for various department director positions that could be appointed as early as the following week.
The majority of the positions came open as government leaders accepted the early retirement packages offered by the county.
Some department head positions were only advertised internally to Macon-Bibb employees, while others were open to anyone, Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert said.
He declined to name any of his recommendations before they are released Tuesday during the County Commission's committee meetings.
"I worked very closely with county manager (Dale Walker), (Human Resources Director) Ben Hubbard and Assistant County Manager Charles Coney to be sure we had our i's dotted and our t's crossed," Reichert said of the selection process.
The open director roles are with the departments of Recreation, Information Technology, Animal Welfare, Public Works, E-911, Facilities Management and the Emergency Management Agency.
The county is not planning to hire another assistant county manager to fill the spot left vacant after the retirement of Steve Layson, Macon-Bibb spokesman Chris Floore said.
"We're presenting the slate as information only (Tuesday) so the commission can review and ask questions this next week," Floore said in an email. "We intend to have a Committee of the Whole meeting during next Tuesday's Pre-Commission for a vote on the slate; if approved then, it would go to the full Commission that evening."
On June 30, IT Director Steve Masteller and Director of Facilities Management Gene Simonds retired. E-911 Director Keith Moffett left July 17 to become the Butts County administrator, and Recreation Director Donald "Doc" Dougherty left July 10 to head the recreation department in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Sarah Tenon, director of the Animal Welfare Department, resigned June 30, and retirements were accepted for Public Works Director Steve Pettis and EMA Director Don Druitt,
FIRE STATION PROPERTY
The commission's Facilities and Engineering Committee will hear a proposal to pay $105,000 for land along Napier Avenue that would become the new home of the Breezy Hill Fire Station now located on Forsyth Road.
The station is among several that government leaders have said need to be relocated. Macon-Bibb is also nearing a sale agreement for a new east Bibb station, Reichert said Monday.
Breezy Hill's facility has become outdated, and fire trucks have had difficulty getting in and out, county leaders have said.
The money for the stations would come from a special purpose local option sales tax and a bond fund set up by the former Bibb County Commission. County leaders have said it costs about $2 million to build a fire station, not including equipment.
Information from The Telegraph archives was used in this story. To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.
This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb department head positions could be selected next week ."