Council calls special meeting to discuss fire chief
Published 3:07 pm Monday, May 6, 2019
The Selma City Council has called a special meeting to address the vacancy left in the Selma Fire Department (SFD) after Chief Toney Stephens announced his resignation at the end of April.
The meeting will be held Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall.
According to Selma City Council President Corey Bowie, the council will formally accept Stephens’ resignation during the meeting and vote to move forward with the interview process for finding a new chief.
Further, Bowie said that he plans to bring forward a proposal that would create a committee of firefighters to assist in the selection of the new chief.
According to Bowie, at least one resume has already been submitted from a firefighter in Alabaster and multiple inquiries have come through over the past several days.
For his part, Bowie is optimistic that the council can work with city hall to find the right fit for the department and the city.
“That’s one of the appointment powers of the council,” Bowie said of the fire chief position. “Hopefully, we can engage the mayor in the process. Hopefully, the legislative branch and the executive branch can come together and choose our next fire chief.”
Initially, Stephens was slated to appear before the council during Tuesday’s meeting, but an unexpected arrest warrant for the former chief caused him to change his plans.
Stephens turned himself in to the Selma Police Department (SPD) Friday after hours, according to SPD Chief Spencer Collier, following a warrant filed by SFD Acting Chief Chris Graham which stated that he felt threatened by Stephens.
Montgomery attorney Julian McPhillips, who is currently representing the three SPD officers placed on administrative leave last year, confirmed that he is representing Stephens.
Collier will also be in attendance for Tuesday’s meeting.
Though Bowie does not know the specifics of what Collier plans to discuss, he is hopeful that the council can take a vote on the Student Resource Officer (SRO) proposal, which must be approved before the end of the school year in order for school officials to have time to prepare for the program over the summer.