Emergency services chief officially hired

A ‘PERMANENT’ MOVE

Yearwood said Merrifield has made it clear that he considers this a “permanent” move.

“He told me, ‘Chairman, I ain’t going anywhere. I know what kind of problems we’ve got. I know what kind of situation we are in with the economy. But we will work through it.’” Added Yearwood: “I think he really wanted everybody to understand that… and to communicate that with everybody up front.”

The chairman said he told Merrifield up front: “Chief, we realize we got old equipment, a high-mileage situation, and ambulances that are worn out that we’ve been able to patch. In the economy we’re in, we can’t do anything. But in the future we can.”

He said Merrifield responded that he understood the condition of the equipment.

“He said, ‘Danny, I understand. I understand completely. I’ve worked where we didn’t’ have any money, and I’ve worked where money was not a problem.’” Yearwood said he and Merrifield would work together on issues that have arisen over the past couple of years.

“We’ve got to make sure he has got the (preemployment) testing he wants put in place,” he said. “And on the boot drives, we’ve got to the things set up with our county and with the county auditors about the way we take in money. We’ve got to be accountable.”

Yearwood said the new chief understands that as well.

“He said, ‘We’ve just got to do one thing at a time.’ He’s just got so many things on his agenda. Right now I think he is just trying to open up communication with the staff and to let people know who he is. I think he’s going to be great for the county.”

And in what has become almost a mantra, Yearwood said he has backed away and will leave the day-to-day operation to Merrifield.

He said Merrifield stopped by his office on Tuesday and said he wanted to discuss staffing.

“I told him, ‘No, that is your decision. You tell me what you want.’” Yearwood added: “I don’t want to be involved in what he’s involved with regarding staffing. All I want him to do is ask me what I can do and what I can’t do, and I will be happy to tell him. And if this needs to go farther, I’ll tell him it needs to go to the board.”

FIREFIGHTERS MEET THEIR CHIEF

With the weekend and holiday immediately following the board’s vote, Merrifield said Tuesday was his first real chance to meet with firefighters.

“Because we can’t take everybody and bring them into one location, since that would be taking emergency workers away from far parts of the county, we met at two different locations,” Merrifield said. “One group met at 7:30 at Statham’s station. Then we went over to the Auburn station at 9:30 and met with folks from that area.”

He said he introduced himself, letting the staff know about his “quirks” and what is important to him and what he expects of them. The firefighters were cordial but somewhat guarded in their initial reception of him, he said.

“I think they are receptive. They’ve been cordial, but certainly not exuberantly jumping up and down, and I don’t blame them. They are waiting. Time will tell. And that needs to happen. Time needs to pass here, and they need to know I’m going to be here… because of the turnovers they’ve had.”

Merrifield said many of the department’s employees have been hired since the May 2007 resignation of former chief Mitch Kitchens, which was followed by an unusual rate of turnovers in the top position.

“So they’ve not known anything different,” Merrifield said.

But while firefighters may believe he is going to make quick changes in current dayto- day operations, he said that is not what he is planning to do.

“That is not at all what my mission is,” Merrifield said. “I need to listen, and I need to continue to listen and to get input from all parties before making concrete decisions about where we are going.”

SALARY HIGHER THAN LAST CHIEF HIRED

In addition to voting to hire Merrifield, the BOC changed the title of the position to a more simplified “chief of emergency services.” It also adopted his job description and set his salary at $73,785.60.

That is about $10,000 more than the BOC agreed to pay Donald Towne, who was hired in June 2010 but lost the position over an arrest for which the charge was subsequently dropped.

Commissioner Steve Worley, who chaired the BOC search committee that recommended Merrifield, said the county sent the job description and title to the Archer Company to establish the appropriate pay grade.

The company set the pay grade at 34 with a minimum salary of $63,455 and a maximum of $88,519.50.

“We’re basically paying him mid-point,” Worley said.

Before coming to Barrow County, the 47-year-old Merrifield served as fire chief of two Florida cities and in Statesboro. He has been in the field of emergency services for about three decades.