Nelsonville council appoints police chief as acting city manager amid pay and transition questions

The Nelsonville City Council at a special meeting moved to appoint the city’s police chief, Deon (last name variously transcribed in the record as Culver/Toiver), as acting city manager to avoid a leadership gap.

Council members seconded the motion and took a roll call; several members answered in the affirmative and the motion carried. The transcript does not provide a definitive, itemized roll-call tally for the appointment.

Members spent the discussion pressing for clarity on compensation. One council member noted a previous ordinance had authorized about $2,500 for similar duties and asked whether that ordinance would still apply. “Last time it was what, $2,500,” a participant said; others said the earlier ordinance may have been superseded by subsequent staff-hiring actions and would need reauthorization.

Supporters argued the police chief already carries a substantial workload and deserves pay when performing extra duties. “If he’s doing the extra work, he does deserve to get paid,” a council member said, adding that the acting manager responsibilities are “a ton of work” and that the job can be hard to fill on a long-term basis.

Opponents questioned paying additional compensation for what the charter already authorizes. One speaker said the city charter designates the police chief to serve as acting city manager in certain situations and asked why the council would pay extra for a short-term assignment.

Council members agreed to ensure there was no gap in leadership and said the council would consider how to advertise any future permanent or interim city manager opening. The council also discussed possibly reauthorizing a compensation ordinance at a subsequent meeting and backdating it to the start of the acting assignment.

The meeting proceeded to a law department update after the personnel action. The meeting later concluded after a motion to adjourn passed by roll call.