Mayor to form committee to narrow candidates

By Coy O’Neal

The Selma Times-Journal

Mayor James Perkins Jr. plans to call together a committee to sort through the resumes for Selma’s police chief.

Perkins doesn’t know how big the committee will be because it’s still in the &8220;shaping up&8221; process. The group will include law enforcement authorities, he said.

The group will have plenty of resumes to sort through. A memo from Slavin Management Consultants dated Oct. 29 indicates the firm has received 36 resumes for the position.

Council member Reid Cain had raised questions about the number of applications received at Monday’s council meeting. &8220;The public has a right to know,&8221; he said.

Police chief Jimmy Martin resigned in June, but said he’d stay on the job until the city finds a new chief. City officials hired Slavin Management Consultants based in Norcross, Ga., to conduct a nationwide search for Martin’s replacement.

The mayor has received criticism lately for cutting off council members from information, such as the number of applicants. The latest memo, which Perkins shared with the Times-Journal, cites a concern about the confidentiality of information pertaining to the search.

Perkins said council members had contacted the consultants asking questions about the search. The memo was sent to discourage future communications. Working candidates need to ensure their jobs are secure if they search, said the mayor, explaining the reason for the secrecy surrounding the applications.

The mayor said he expects the initial screening of candidates to take place in December.