ELLISVILLE – A little over a month after appointing a new head of the Ellisville Fire Department, the City of Ellisville is once again in the search mode for a new leader of that department.
John Polson officially resigned from being Ellisville fire chief on Tuesday.
Polson followed longtime Fire Chief Ronnie McGilberry, who retired effective July 22, after more than 20 years of service to the Ellisville Fire Department.
At that time Ellisville Mayor Lynn Buckhaults said that “the battalion chiefs and firefighters would continue the work until the new chief was selected.”
Then in September Buckhaults announced that Polson would be the new fire chief, and he was sworn into the new position by City Clerk Charma Cook.
Polson said he was excited about his new position and looked forward to serving.
On Tuesday during the Ellisville Board of Aldermen meeting, the mayor announced that Polson submitted his resignation earlier that day, effective immediately on October 15.
Therefore, the Ellisville Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to accept Polson’s resignation.
The Board of Aldermen then approved the position of interim fire chief and set an annual salary of $41,844. Then, on the recommendation of the mayor, the Board voted to approve Jacob Williams as the new interim fire chief effective on Wednesday. Buckhaults said Polson’s resignation came as a surprise.
“It was nothing we were expecting,” the mayor said Tuesday. “It’s a personnel matter, but he submitted a letter and resigned as of today.”
Following the acceptance of the resignation, Buckhaults recommended Williams and praised him for his service to the city. Williams, who had been serving as a battalion chief with the fire department, said he just found out about Polson’s resignation Tuesday evening and the new position he was being asked to fill.
A Wayne County native, Williams started working in firefighting as a volunteer with the Ellisville Fire Department and became a full-time firefighter in 2008.
“I started out in Ellisville,” he said. “It feels like home here in Ellisville.”
The mayor said Williams is the fire department’s senior battalion chief.
“I am thankful that he is willing to step up,” Buckhaults said. “The department continues to move on, and we have a fire department that needs leadership, and he’s the best choice at this point.”
Williams said he enjoys firefighting and in addition to working in Ellisville, he has also begun working with the Petal Fire Department.
“I enjoy helping people,” Williams said. “I like being a part of the community, and I love serving people.”
Williams said he will begin his new position in Ellisville by focusing on personnel and working to recruit firefighters to fill some vacant slots in the fire department, as well as encourage others to become volunteers with the fire department.
In other business, the Board also voted unanimously to approve the hiring of Charles Hales as a truck driver in the Street Department on a six-month probationary period at a salary of $20,800 annually.
The Board also voted to approve the advertising for Jones County Foundation at a rate of $500 and agreed to combine two debt fire service CDs into one at renewal at Community Bank. A vote was also taken to continue the city’s sponsorship of the annual Christmas parade, which will be held this year at 2 p.m. on December 7, and the annual tree lighting, which will take place on December 6 at 6 p.m.