RINGGOLD, Ga. – The City Council here delayed action on naming a new chief of police Wednesday after residents questioned the legality of a special meeting.
The council will meet again at 5:45 p.m. Monday, when it presumably will name a chief. Vice Mayor Terry Crawford offered no clues on which way the panel was leaning.
There are three finalists for the chief’s job: Catoosa County sheriff’s Lt. Dan Bilbrey, Fort Oglethorpe police Officer Steve Blevins and Ringgold police Sgt. and acting Chief Wilborn Dycus.
“I think we have three very good candidates,” Crawford said. “We decided to delay the vote because there were some questions about whether proper notice was given.”
He said the city sent a notice Tuesday afternoon to a Catoosa County newspaper, which posted a news story about the meeting on its website Wednesday morning.
Georgia law requires only that governments post a notice of a called meeting in a conspicuous place where all normal meeting notices are posted and that it notify the newspaper within 24 hours of the meeting, according to guidelines distributed by the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.
The council also met Monday to discuss the chief of police position. But after more than a hour of closed-door talks, it decided against naming a new top officer.
Contact Adam Crisp at acrisp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6323.