May 3—Human Resources Director Richelle Sandlin continues to work on salary negotiations with prospective Decatur police chief Torry Mack while waiting for a background check, she said this week, but some council members want him hired quickly.
Sandlin said she’s not sure if she will have an agreement in place before Monday’s 6 p.m. City Council meeting.
“We’re talking to Capt. Mack almost every day, so it may all come together soon,” Sandlin said.
Yet, Councilman Billy Jackson suggested at this week’s work session that the council should add Mack to next week’s agenda and not wait for Sandlin to complete a background check on the prospective chief.
Jackson said he believes the Police Department has an immediate need for Mack’s leadership after the April 22 death of John Scott Jr. following his April 15 arrest by police officers while he was having an apparent health crisis. Videotape shows Scott was Tased and hit multiple times as he resisted arrest, and then was dragged into a cell at the Morgan County Jail. He soon exhibited medical problems and was transported to the hospital. He died at Huntsville Hospital.
Scott’s death followed ongoing controversy over the fatal police shooting of Steve Perkins on Sept. 29, 2023. Former Officer Mac Marquette was charged with murder and is scheduled to go to trial June 9.
Public frustration over the deaths led to a chaotic council work session Monday and the arrest of six people for misdemeanors. Those six have also been banned from entering City Hall, according to the mayor.
Nadis Carlisle is leading DPD as interim chief after former Chief Todd Pinion stepped down in March following Green Research & Technology’s third-party evaluation of the Police Department in the wake of the Perkins’ death.
“Whether you’re a supporter of Chief Pinion or not, and whether you’re a supporter of the interim chief or not, I think it’s time to move on to put something permanent in place and go from there,” Jackson said.
Mack is a captain in the Birmingham Police Department, where he has worked for 30 years, so Jackson said he’s not worried about what the background check might find.
Jackson said Sandlin and Human Resources are “doing what they typically do, but this is not a typical situation. With this not being a typical situation, it’s imperative that we take action and move forward.”
He said that if Sandlin’s work “is not done in a timely manner,” the council should include a resolution on the next meeting agenda to hire Mack.
Sandlin said putting a resolution on the agenda before she’s finished with contract negotiations and a background check “would be highly unusual. It goes against policy that was set nine years ago.”
She said this policy sets the process for hiring directors, including police and fire chiefs. It states that the council picks a potential candidate, Human Resources does a background check and negotiates salary and compensation with the candidate and then the council takes a final vote.
Mack was one of 18 applicants for the job posting that closed March 18, but the only one interviewed after two finalists backed out of consideration for the job. The job posting stated that the annual salary range is $99,508 to $151,414.
Council President Jacob Ladner said he prefers to wait until Monday to find out then how far along Sandlin is in the hiring process with Mack, but he agrees they need to speed up the process.
The city is also working to fill directors’ openings in Planning, Parks and Recreation and Youth Services.
Sandlin said she will recommend on Monday that the council interview two of the four additional applicants the city received after the council reopened the Planning director search.
The two original finalists, Lee Terry, director of economic development and planning at TARCOG (Top of Alabama Regional Council of Governments) in Huntsville, and Steve Hohulin, former director of Land Planning for Quiddity, The Woodlands, Texas, are still candidates.
Jackson advocated for reopening the planning director job because of the ongoing federal government layoffs led by the Department of Governmental Efficiency. However, Sandlin said none of the new applicants are laid-off federal workers.
Sandlin said she plans to finish reviewing the 73 applications for Parks and Recreation director and make a recommendation on Monday on how she believes the City Council should move forward with this hire. She said she won’t be ready next week to make a recommendation on which candidates should be interviewed.
— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432