The Jefferson city council held a special meeting Thursday at noon to approve the hiring of police chief Dave Morlan as the city’s new public works director.
According to city administrator Mike Palmer, a committee of six interviewed three candidates for the position. The special meeting was called because the next regular council meeting isn’t until Jan. 12 and the council wants Morlan to start is new job Jan. 4.
Morlan started his city employment as a seasonal employee working on runway maintenance at the airport in 1990. He became a fulltime employee of the city’s street and sanitation department on July 1, 1992. He joined the Jefferson police department in 1996 after serving two years as a reserve officer. He was appointed police captain after the retirement of Les Fister in 2003, and became chief after the retirement of Dan Taylor in 2012.
He said Thursday that he will miss the camaraderie in the police department, but that after 19 years in law enforcement, “the things that go along with that can wear on a guy.” The position of public works director will give him an opportunity to continue in an administrative role while giving him “a new challenge, a new chapter” in his life.
He is looking forward to working with more city employees. “The city has a good group of guys with many talents,” he said.
Morlan will begin his new position at his JPD salary ($54,288 reported for 2014, 2015 not yet reported). The public works job was posted at $59,000 to $68,000.
The city council also on Thursday approved promoting JPD captain Mark Clouse as interim police chief at his current salary ($48,160 reported for 2014). The council expects to have recommendations of wages from the wage committee at the Jan. 12 regular council meeting.
