Interim City Manager Rorie will announce name of new chief within next 2 weeks
Above, from left, top 3 candidates Janet Moon, Joe Duvall, Jeff Glazier. Photos/Submitted.
Background checks on the top two candidates for the job of Peachtree City police chief are underway and the announcement of the hire is expected within the next two weeks. The hire will be made by interim City Manager Jon Rorie based on outgoing City Manager Jim Pennington’s recommendation and the efforts of a four-person panel.
The three finalists interviewed June 2 were Marietta Police Department Maj. Archie Joseph Duvall, Suwanee Police Department Deputy Chief Janet Lee Moon and Atlanta Police Department Maj. Jeffrey Lawrence Glazier.
Pennington said after the interviews with the three top candidates were conducted on June 2, he made his choice, which has not been announced publicly yet.
The city is currently conducting a background check on the top two candidates that is expected to lead to an announcement, he said.
The reason for having the check run on both candidates is based on the reality that, on some hiring occasions, a top candidate can withdraw from consideration for any number of reasons, Pennington said.
Pennington said Rorie officially will make the hire, adding after the June 4 council meeting that Rorie will have his recommendation for the new chief. Pennington’s last day before retiring is June 12.
Pennington noted that the determination on the city’s next police chief was a group effort. One interview panel interviewed the top seven candidates and a second panel interviewed the top three. Pennington said Rorie will make the decision based on the group effort and on Pennington’s recommendation.
Asked if the council will accept Pennington’s recommendation, Mayor Vanessa Fleisch said the council “will go with Jim’s hire.”
Another question was asked pertaining to the ability of a city manager to make the hire given the salary involved. City attorney Ted Meeker said the city manager has the authority to make the hire, adding that the council does not have to approve it.
Pennington on Monday said the new chief will be hired as any other department head and the job will not involve a contract.
The chief’s vacancy attracted 126 applicants and was whittled down to seven candidates whom were interviewed by a four-person panel.
Pennington after the May 21 City Council meeting said the panel consisted of himself, city attorney Ted Meeker, Human Resources Director Ellece Brown and Community Services Division/Public Services Division Director Jon Rorie.
A second panel interviewed at least three finalists on June 2. That panel consisted of Peachtree City resident and Piedmont Fayette Hospital Executive Director of Community and Public Relations Debbie Britt, LaGrange Police Chief Lou Dekmar, Peachtree City Christian Church Pastor George Dillard, Meeker and with Pennington as an observer.
Captain Stan Pye — a 25-year veteran of the department — is currently serving as interim chief.
The opening came after McCollom resigned after the accidental shooting of his ex-wife in their Peachtree City home on New Year’s Day.
McCollom was subsequently indicted for misdemeanor reckless conduct in the incident, but the case has not come to trial in state court.
