During its first meeting July 6, the Columbia Board of Aldermen handled a variety of business, including filling Mayor Justin McKenzie’s former job at the Columbia Police Department.
McKenzie had been a captain at the CPD and supervised the uniformed patrol division among his duties. Shortly after being elected to the mayor’s position, McKenzie stepped down from the police department.
During the meeting, Police Chief Mike Cooper presented Lt. Johnny Barnes, who had been serving as a detective and a shift supervisor.
“I’d like to nominate Johnny because he has 22 years of experience,” Cooper told the Board. “We’re trying to get our operations back to normal with Justin’s departure. He was chief in Mendenhall before joining us. He’s been here several years.”
Ward 3 Alderwoman Anna Evans wanted a chance to meet Barnes before voting on him.
Cooper told the Board that he could bring Barnes in to introduce him to members that did not know the veteran officer. About 15 minutes later, Barnes appeared in the boardroom and spoke briefly with members.
Evans then made a motion to promote Barnes to captain, and it was seconded by Ward 4 Alderman Mike Smith. The Board voted unanimously to approve the promotion.
In addition, Cooper shared his department’s statistics with the Board, which included 395 calls for service. The calls included 93 reports, 26 accidents, 111 escorts, 48 warrants served, 46 misdemeanor arrests, 13 felony arrests and 16 of the arrests involved drug charges.
During the meeting, Interim Fire Chief Jeff McKenzie also presented the retirement of Capt. Terry Hamilton, who is retiring after serving more than 30 years with the Columbia Fire Department.
During the meeting, McKenzie also presented monthly statistics for the CFD, which included a total of 138 calls. The runs included 111 medical calls, seven motor vehicle accidents, three vehicle fires, two structure fires, two public service calls, two smoke calls, one medical standby, two traffic control calls, three fire alarms, three natural disaster calls, one mutual aid call and one other miscellaneous call.
The Board also discussed CFD promotions with the retirements of Chief Larry Ratliff and captains Tommy Graves and Terry Hamilton.
The Board also accepted the resignation of firefighter John Ready, who had recently joined the department.
“I don’t think we need to take any action on this yet, but I spoke with Jeff a few minutes ago about promotions,” Mayor McKenzie said.
Chief McKenzie explained how the workflow was going with the loss of the shift leaders.
“The lieutenant on the shift is handling operations currently,” he said.
Mayor McKenzie explained that a promotional panel would be formed and internal tests taken for fire department leadership roles. The department also has several openings for firefighters.
Chief McKenzie said that he was reviewing applications for firefighters and that candidates may be submitted at the July 18 meeting.
The Board also approved sending Detective Capt. Rita Pickering to a training class on advanced interviewing techniques. The class is a free seminar. The Board also approved sending DUI Officer Nate Cook to the Mississippi DUI Forum in Jackson July 13 and 14.
The Board also discussed hiring procedures for the police department, as two lieutenant spots are open currently. Barnes will need to be replaced with his promotion to captain and last month; Lt. Tim McNeil resigned to accept a job with another agency.
Cooper said the positions will be posted, and an interview panel comprised of officers from other departments will make recommendations on the candidates.
Evans suggestion having a Board member on the panel, and City Attorney Lawrence Hahn said the Board would need to establish a procedure for hiring and its involvement in the process.
“The Board also has the right to review the applications,” he said. “You can always go and look over an application or a personnel file; it’s your right.”
Mayor McKenzie said Cooper would send a message to Board members informing them if he has a new hire to be presented to the Board, so that members can review the application.
The Board also learned from Hahn about procedures for discussing personnel items in executive session. Board members will likely discuss more personnel issues in next week’s meeting.
The Columbia Board of Aldermen meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
