Chief hopefuls down to three

By Vershal Hogan (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Wednesday, June 11, 2008

FERRIDAY — The pool of 10 applicants for the chief of police of Ferriday has been whittled down to three, but a final decision will hinge on an inquiry to the current administration.

“One of the questions that came up during the interviews was about salary,” McGlothin said. “I don’t know what the chief of police makes right now, and since I’m not mayor yet, I can’t set salaries.”

So McGlothin sent an inquiry to the current city government to get a salary schedule for all city workers so he could get an idea about what the chief makes, he said.

“Once I know that, I’ll be able to make a decision,” he said.

In Ferriday, the chief of police is appointed rather than elected, and McGlothin appointed a four-person committee to interview candidates and make recommendations.

The committee was composed of attorney Anna Ferguson, who will serve as the town’s attorney when McGlothin takes office, former chief Bobby Sheppard, businessman Ronnie Freeman and resident Otis Hollins.

“We have got some good candidates that put in applications, and we’re still in the process,” Freeman said. “Some of them we are going to re-interview, and we have got to set that back up, but we should know something by next week.”

Though the committee conducts the interviews, the decision ultimately rests with the mayor, and Ferguson said she did not feel at liberty to discuss the interviews.

“We did the interviews, gave the mayor our impressions with the different candidates for him to take home and mull over, but I don’t have any idea about what his decision will be,” Ferguson said. “I am waiting to hear, too.”

McGlothin did not want to release the names of the finalists at this time, he said.

The other members of the committee could not be reached for comment.