Gahan names Knight police chief, among appointments ... Juliot will stay fire chief; more announcements coming next week, by Daniel Suddeath
Sherri Knight will be the next New Albany Police Chief, as her promotion was one of three appointments announced by Mayor-elect Jeff Gahan on Thursday.
Gahan confirmed Matt Juliot will retain his position as New Albany Fire Chief. He also announced that Scott Wood will be promoted to New Albany City Plan Commission Director from his current slot as Assistant Director and Zoning Officer.
Knight will replace Todd Bailey — who was appointed by Mayor Doug England in 2010 — as NAPD chief effective Jan. 1.
Speaking for myself, it's too bad to see Todd Bailey depart; as terms go, "modern" and "police" need not be contradictory. Meanwhile, Harold J. Adams of the C-J takes the story a wee bit further.
Among other appointments announced by Gahan, Scott Wood has been promoted to director for the New Albany City Plan Commission where he has served as assistant director over the past four years. That’s a position that had been held by current deputy mayor Carl Malysz under outgoing mayor Doug England. It was not clear Thursday whether Malysz would have a role in the Gahan administration.
In the city clerk's on-line directory these past four years, Malysz has been listed three times: Once as Deputy Mayor, and twice as Director of Community Development, the latter under both Redevelopment and the Plan Commission. City Hall consistently has pointed out that the deputy mayor/body double position was intended as "ceremonial," without power and sans pay. The reporter Suddeath explained it in this city council preview from November 18, 2010: England: New Albany City Council should not cut salaries; Mayor says Malysz saves city $20k a year
The deputy mayor’s salary is comprised of about $40,000 in plan commission money, about $40,000 from Economic Development Income Tax proceeds and about $5,000 from redevelopment commission funds.
... Earlier this week, Coffey said a deputy mayor should not make more than the mayor. The 2008 ordinance that set the deputy mayor’s salary also raised the mayor’s annual pay by $11,000 to $75,000.
It also established a $43,000 a year salary for the director of city operations, a position that has not been held since John Wilcox stepped down shortly after England took office. The position has not been funded by the council the past two years.
Matt Denison is paid $35,000 a year for his role as Assistant Director of Operations ...
At the city council meeting of November 18, 2010, CM Dan Coffey introduced a largely symbolic resolution to gut both Malysz's and city attorney Shane Gibson's pay packets.
R-10-41 A Resolution To Cap Certain Salaries of Appointed City Officials Coffey and Hiring Freeze ... Mr. Coffey moved for the reading R-10-41, Mr. Price second, the vote did not pass with six no votes and 3 aye votes.
Although NAC covered the meeting, which will be remembered primarily as the culmination of Steve Price's fit of pique against historic preservation (Briscoe Declares for Aunt Bee), I cannot recall who cast the third vote in favor of Coffey's resolution.
All of which points to these questions: With Gahan having stated that there'll be no deputy mayor in his administration, will Wood's elevation have the effect of depriving the soon-to-be-former deputy mayor of a revenue stream? Will the director of city operations be funded, and if so, who will serve? What happens to Denison?
And: Can't Gahan just grab some some more unguarded federal money from neighborhood stabilization and give all of us a few hundred bucks for a Christmas shopping spree at Big Lots?
11 comments:
well gahan is off to a bad start on 2 of these appointments
I agree with ecology warrior. These are bad choices! I had a lot of hope for Gahan, but now I am actually upset that I voted for him. He should have made all appointment announcements by now, instead of waiting til next week to give some people the ax. And as for Mr. Wood, he is probably one of the least hardworking people for the City and seems to be a very bitter person. I forsee Gahan being a one term mayor and only making the city worse off. Maybe one day New Albany will have a good mayor, but I would not count on Gahan to be one.
On the contrary, I've always found Wood to be refreshingly realistic, fair-minded, and among the least engaged in the sort of nepotistic shenanigans that have been such a highlight of late. He's also often been the one to get the actual work done while some others were busy pandering for the sake of appearances.
The trick now will be to bolster his experience and institutional memory in the planning and redevelopment departments with some energetic, fresh faces who aren't so caught up in the counterproductive "relationships" that often take the place of actual decision making around here.
I have worked with Scott on a number of issues. My impression is that (i) he has a deep understanding of planning issues and (ii) he sincerely cares whether the city adopts good planning practices. I wish him luck!
I've never had to "work" with Scott but I have observed him for several years at city council meetings. When presenting his positions, he is clear & focused. Same when answering questions. He seldom hedges and always seems to have a thorough understanding of the subject. Those things don't happen by being a slacker.
yada yada yada, stella is right gahan is going down the path of a 1 term mayor.
Wood is in the hip pockets of developers and Knight as police Chief?? lets not forget the yard sign controversy of 2007.
So, are all of you in the business of judging before someone even officially takes office? Todd Bailey did an okay job, but maybe Sherri will be even better. I think it is time to give someone else a chance. I am also offended by the POPS program as several residents of the area are constantly pulled over and harassed. I think there is a better way to reduce the crime rate without harassing residents. I hope Knight is the person that can lead us to these better ideas. As for Wood, I think we should we should wait and see how it goes. If anyone were to judge the job I was doing before I even did it, then I would not take very much pride in working for the people of New Albany.
To reprise: The first round's on me, but after that, new reader comments should abuse by the rules stated in the right column (scroll down). Danke.
No fair. New commenters have to "abuse by the rules" while we old-timers have to abide by them? Time for a new scrip on those beer goggles. Hope you and yours have a great holiday.
Talk about Freudian: I wrote abuse instead of abide. That was unintentional. I always have a one post grace period. Happy holidaze to all.
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