Less than a month after Barrow County terminated the employment of newly hired fire chief Donald Towne, the search for his replacement has been put on hold.
Following Towne’s dismissal last month, the Barrow County Board of Commissioners decided to begin a new search for a permanent chief rather than turning to the next choice on the candidate list.
Last week, citing budgetary constraints, Barrow County chairman Danny Yearwood ordered the search be suspended until further notice.
Yearwood said he is trying to get the budget situation under control and does not know when the search for a permanent chief will resume.
Barrow County has been without a permanent fire chief since Mark Melvin resigned in October of 2009. Melvin left Barrow County Emergency Services after less than seven months on the job. Concerns about the effects of salary reductions and reductions in force reportedly prompted Melvin’s departure.
Melvin’s predecessor, Robert Post, served only 18 months before resigning after an unpaid suspension and a dispute with the county commission over budget cuts.
Battalion chief John Skinner served as acting chief until Towne was hired in June. Towne held the position for 18 days before being arrested on July 9 by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on felony theft charges.
Since Towne’s arrest, Skinner has once again been filling the role of acting chief.