The search for a City Manager in Waycross is down to one person.
Stuart Truille, named a finalist for the position along with Ulysses Rayford by the City Commission November 29, has removed himself from consideration.
Truille said in a reply Sunday to a text message to his phone number from the Waycross Journal-Herald about the search that he now was involved with another job in Virginia.
He wrote: “As no decision was reached, I’m pursuing an offer in Virginia. Thank you, Stuart Truille.”
Marissa Hendrix, Human Resources Director for the city, said Monday morning Truille informed her in a phone call earlier this month he wanted to withdraw his candidacy.
The Journal-Herald contacted both Truille and Rayford by email Friday seeking their status with the job given the length of time since they were identified as its finalists.
The email to the address used earlier to correspond with Truille was returned as undeliverable, thus the text message to his phone.
In his email, Rayford replied: “I am still very interested in the position and awaiting additional feedback. Hopefully, we will know something soon.”
Hendrix said discussions with Rayford remain active.
Rayford was a career member of the United States Army, most recently serving from March 2019 to March 2022 as Deputy Chief of Staff at the rank of G-9 Sergeant Major with the Department of Defense, according to the resume’ he provided for his candidacy. He grew up in Columbus, Ga., and has relatives in the Albany area.
The city has been operating with an Acting City Manager for the past 406 days as of today (Wednesday, January 25). When Rayford and Truille were announced as finalists in a legal advertisement in the Journal-Herald, it pegged the commission’s bi-monthly meeting Tuesday, December 20, 2022, as the first time for action on the two men, both residents of Virginia.
The issue was not included on the meeting’s agenda. It also has not appeared on either of the agenda’s for the commission’s two business meetings already held this month (January 3 and 17).
Commissioners, however, did meet in executive session to discuss personnel after each of the planning and information sessions that were held before the business meetings on the two days. Waycross resident Dr. Earl Martin, addressed the commission at each of those sessions on the critical need to hire a replacement for Tonya Parrish, who left city payroll December 15, 2021.
“It’s been over a year,” Martin said during his first appearance January 3. “It’s time for this decision to be made, overdue really.”
Martin, a a past candidate for a commission seat, reiterated that theme in his appearance last week.
Fire Chief David Eddins replaced Parrish when she left to become City Manager in Flowery Branch, Ga. Eddins was replaced on June 15 by Community Improvement Director Marc Hawkins, who was succeeded December 15 by Police Chief Tommy Cox.
The City Charter prohibits a person in the acting role to serve more than six months during any one search.
Rayford and Truille emerged from a list of 23 candidates in the second version of the search for a city manager. The men were chosen as finalists during an executive session after a November 28 called meeting of the commission that followed interviews earlier in the month.
The second search began in July after commissioners failed to reach a consensus on June 21, 2022 between finalists Joey Cason, Patrick Simmons and Chandler Williamson. A motion to hire Cason was voted down 3-2.
That trio was determined from a group of 45 candidates in the initial search that began in early January, 2022. None of the three was a candidate in the second version.
Parrish served the city about 34 months after being hired as the lone finalist of 21 candidates following a six-month search. She replaced Raphel Maddox, who was dismissed by the commissionn for “inappropriate conduct in the workplace.”
