Despite one Starkville alderman’s objection to Tuesday’s interim fire chief appointment, outgoing Chief Rodger Mann says the move makes sense because it avoids numerous internal promotions.
The board appointed Fire Marshal Mark McCurdy as Mann’s interim replacement over Battalion Chief Curtis Randle in a 4-3 vote Tuesday. The votes to approve McCurdy and pass on Randle both went down racial lines.
After a failed motion to appoint Randle, Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins alluded to racial bias as the board’s reasoning to pick McCurdy instead of Randle. Perkins never specifically accused the board’s four white aldermen of racism, but his comments insinuated the vote promoted McCurdy because “of who he is, not his experience.”
McCurdy is white. Randle is black.
Mann said both McCurdy and Randle would perform well as interim chief, but McCurdy’s promotion makes more sense in terms of personnel.
If the board would have appointed Randle, SFD would have then faced several internal promotion decisions to fill his void: a firefighter would roll up to sergeant; a sergeant would move to lieutenant; a lieutenant would be promoted to captain; and a captain would then be tapped for the open battalion chief’s position.
The city employs three battalion chiefs, including Randle. One battalion chief is already on extended leave, Mann said, and Randle’s promotion would technically leave one sole battalion chief in his original position.
McCurdy’s promotion, however, would not require any other internal moves given that SFD employs two fire marshals. While Fire Marshal Stein McMullen’s job functions would increase, Mann said he is capable of handling the additional load on an interim basis.
“When you promote a battalion chief like that, that’s rolling someone from a 24-48 (24-hours on, 48-hours off) shift to an 8-to-5 work schedule. There are also four other positions you have to account for,” Mann said. “In my mind, either (McCurdy or Randle) would do a good job. They’re both close enough in the day-to-day activities that they understand how things need to go. There are a lot of other strong candidates within the department, too, that are just not interested in the position at this time in their career. It’s a good indication of our department’s strength to have so many talented firefighters.”
Board members explicitly told both candidates Tuesday that they will not hire the interim as the permanent replacement. Specifically, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn said she felt the hiring process would be tainted with an interim’s application because of the perceived leg up the candidate would have.
Both McCurdy and Randle told aldermen they had no intent at that time to seek the full-time job, but Randle said Thursday he was unsure if he would keep his name out of the applicant pool since he is not serving as the interim.
“Then, I was not inclined to apply for it prior to the board’s decision. Now? I don’t know,” Randle said. “It’s emotional. I have to continue to think and pray about it.”
Tuesday’s marathon board meeting concluded with McCurdy’s appointment, Perkins’ allusions of a racist vote and the early exits of Perkins and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn prior to the conclusion of business.
After discussing employees’ performances behind closed doors, Perkins stumped for Randle, a 25-year veteran, and called his promotion a “right and fair” act considering his experience.
McCurdy, the vice mayor said, has not worked through the same promotion policy that put Randle in his many supervisory positions.
McCurdy joined the force in 2003, became a fire inspector in 2006 and was promoted to fire marshal one year later.
The board’s three African-American representatives — Perkins, Vaughn and Wynn — supported Randle’s appointment, while its four Caucasian aldermen — Ben Carver, David Little, Scott Maynard and Jason Walker — defeated the vice mayor’s motion.
The same four-alderman bloc tapped McCurdy for the interim gig beginning Feb. 27 and authorized the city to advertise the full-time job.
Perkins said he hopes the board of aldermen uses “a modern-day mindset” in the city’s future search instead of “the old-age” one it used to pick an interim. He also called his peers’ action a “slap in (Randle’s) face.”
“We all know why this decision is being made, and it’s not being made, in my opinion, on experience and qualifications,” Perkins said after Randle’s failed appointment. “It’s being made on one factor, and everybody in this room may not want to verbalize it, but I know what’s going on.”
“This is why we’ve been under court order so long, because if you leave it to the majority, it won’t get done right,” he added. “That’s why we’ve been under a minority decree. That’s why we’re under a court-approved employment policy. Perhaps we need to stay under this because we’re not doing any better. That’s why the federal government … has to oversee us, because the majority in most instances will not make the right decision.
Vaughn walked out of the meeting after Randle’s failed appointment. Perkins followed suit after McCurdy’s vote. The vice mayor declined to elaborate on or clarify his comments in the hallway Tuesday.
“I resent the comments and insinuations that there were ulterior motives,” Little said following Perkins’ allusions.
The Ward 3 alderman said he spoke with many firefighters about who should lead in Mann’s absence. McCurdy’s name was often mentioned by firefighters, he said, along with Training Officer Charles Yarbrough, McMullen and Randle.
It is believed both Yarbrough and McMullen also have interest in the chief’s position.
On Thursday, Little rehashed a conversation he had with Mann last week about who should become the interim. Both Little and Mann confirmed the outgoing fire chief supported both candidates.
“The bottom line is Mark’s very capable of making the day-to-day decisions that need to be made,” Mann said following Tuesday’s meeting. “He’s very familiar with the management style that I have in place, and he’s more than capable of leading the department.”
McCurdy said it was an honor to be appointed interim fire chief Tuesday and reiterated he would not seek the position on a permanent basis.
During the month’s first board meeting, Mann announced he will conclude his 33-year career with the city at the end of the month.
His retirement marks the fourth major city departure since the current board of aldermen took over in 2013.
In their first meeting this term, aldermen forced out former Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Spruill, who joined the city during the Dan Camp administration. Former Community Development Director William Snowden resigned his post due to health reasons in 2013, and former Starkville Police Chief David Lindley announced his retirement that same year after he was placed on administrative leave.
Aldermen have looked internally and filled openings with promotions: Taylor Adams was moved from city clerk to CAO/finance director; Lesa Hardin, a deputy clerk, assumed Adams’ former role; then-Capt. Frank Nichols was tapped as the city’s first African-American police chief; and Buddy Sanders, who was previously hired as city planner, was promoted to community development director.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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