Council approves town manager appointment and creates speed-camera ombudsman and program manager roles

Mayor Petrella Robinson nominated Shelley Dorsey Washington to fill the town-manager vacancy and the council approved the appointment effective June 1.

In open session Mayor Robinson said Washington has municipal-government experience (she has served as treasurer and previously worked as town manager in Brentwood) and recommended her as a qualified candidate. Councilmembers expressed concurrence and approved the nomination; Dorothy Washington acknowledged the appointment and said she looks forward to serving in the new role.

The meeting also addressed the town's speed-camera program. The council approved naming former Brentwood police chief Calvin Washington as the program ombudsman to handle disputes and court appearances related to speed-camera citations. Council then assigned program-manager duties to assistant clerk Christian Ortiz Romero, and the mayor said the town increased his compensation to reflect the additional duties. Training for the new program manager is scheduled to begin the following week.

Mayor Robinson announced that the town's partnership with Forest Heights Police Department for ticket review will end on May 17; Forest Heights previously charged $4 per ticket for review. The council discussed the need to transition review functions in-house and to document procedures and access logs as required under the town's camera and records policies.

Procedural details: the mayor said interviews for the open treasurer position will proceed (candidates named in the meeting were Chris Harrington and Tracy Gross) and that additional resumes will be accepted through May 8 with an aim to fill the treasurer role by June 1.