The mayor plans to name a chief for the Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department by the end of the year, he said at the council meeting Monday.
The post has been filled on an interim basis by Deputy Chief Shauwn Howell since May 13, when former fire chief Dannie Smith left to take another job in Texas.
Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Irene Holcomb asked Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. about the status of filling the position.
“Very, very soon,” Redus said. “As soon as I can get all of the documentation done and the interviews completed.”
Holcomb said she would like to have a time estimate and asked if Redus expected to make the decision before the end of the year.
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“Absolutely,” Redus said.
Alderman Wayne Easterly, who is also a member of the Public Safety Committee, asked if Redus still plans — as he has stated previously — to allow the committee to interview the finalists for the position and submit their recommendations.
Redus said yes.
Redus has previously set a Sept. 15 deadline for naming the position.
At an Aug. 1 Pine Bluff City Council Public Safety committee meeting, Redus said that he had narrowed down the pool of candidates to five and intended to further reduce the candidates to three finalists that week. Redus has declined to identify the finalists.
Also on Aug. 1, Redus said he hoped to get input from the Public Safety Committee and a panel of fire chiefs from across the state.
Nine people applied for the position, according to applications acquired in early August through a Freedom of Information Act request.
From within the Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Department, Howell, Engineer Kahdijah A. Miller and Battalion Chief Scott Moore applied for the position.
The other applicants were: Lewis “Klay” Hall of Sheridan; John R. Burns Jr. of Marion; Corey E. Derico of Jacksonville; Michael Woods Naifeh of Covington, Tenn.; Kenneth W. Lay of Fishers, Ind.; Theodore “Ted” Patrick Martin of Watseka, Ill.