The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors will host a round of interviews at its next meeting to determine who will serve as the next county fire services coordinator.
Current coordinator Kirk Rosenhan was appointed for a two-week period to fill the role until interviews can be conducted. He has served in the position since October 1988, when it was first mandated by the state.
The supervisors agreed to allow Rosenhan to also interview for the position.
District 3 Supervisor Marvell Howard brought the discussion of the fire services coordinator position to the board, which sparked the evaluation of Rosenhan’s performance.
Howard said several months ago he called a meeting with the fire chiefs, the coordinator and the training officers. During the meeting, Howard said he specifically asked Rosenhan to provide a comprehensive plan to highlight current and future plans.
Along with the comprehensive plan, Howard claimed some of the county fire station ratings could have been dropped from a 10 to a 9 if the right paperwork had been filed.
“To this day, I haven’t seen anything,” Howard said. “Long story short, I don’t think he’s committed to being our fire coordinator anymore.”
During the discussion, Howard said he feels there are some fire districts doing well, but he said many are not being as efficient, because they are waiting for the coordinator to lay out a plan for them to execute.
“They are not getting that guidance or leadership from our fire coordinator,” Howard said. “That’s the reason I won’t vote to reappoint (Rosenhan).”
The board all agreed to hold an interview process to see who the next appointee will be.
“This is a complete surprise and disappointment to me,” Rosenhan told the Starkville Daily News on Tuesday.
Rosenhan said he understands Howard is disappointed about fire ratings, which he has been working on for a long time. He said recruitment, and not having the right amount of people the rating bureau requires, is keeping the ratings from coming down.
Rosenhan said from his understanding, Howard has the opinion he is not interested in the job. He said he understands the concerns of complacency and the notion that he would have to go at some point, but he would like to address the concerns the board discussed during their meeting.
“I can assure everybody I certainly am continued to be interested in the fire service and in the job,” Rosenhan said.
When asked if Rosenhan would join the interview process proposed by the board, he said he is unsure of his next steps since he has little information on the county’s decision.
Rosenhan said he was contacted by county administration late Tuesday afternoon, who told him to come to the next board meeting prepared to answer questions. He said during his meeting, he was not told about the interview process for other possible appointees.
“That wasn't made clear to me at this point,” Rosenhan said. “I don’t know other than what people have told me through the grapevine.”
Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors President Orlando Trainer said those who are interested in interviewing for the fire services coordinator position should contact county administrator Emily Garrard.
“In two weeks, we can either reappoint him or go in another direction,” Trainer said.
Supervisors approved the other appointed positions, which include county administrator, board attorney, county engineer, road manager, EMA director and Justice Court Clerk.
Along with appointments, supervisors voted for Trainer to continue serving as the board president and District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery to serve as the vice president of the board.