Jeffery Carley Set to be Named Wyandotte Fire Chief

Wyandotte Fire Capt. Jeffery Carley is expected to be appointed fire chief, replacing longtime chief .

Mayor Joseph Peterson submitted Carley's name Thursday afternoon to the city's Police and Fire Commission as his recommendation as the next fire chief.

"Jeff is a very qualified fireman," Peterson said. "He is more than qualified. He has a great service record. He's risen through the ranks and will do a good job as chief."

Carley has been with the for about 22 years and lives in Wyandotte, Peterson said.

According to testing criteria administered by the city's Firefighters Civil Service Commission, two current firefighters were eligible to be promoted to chief. They are Carley and Lt. Gregory (Michael) Garrison.

While the two men scored "very close" on the test, Carley inched out Garrison, causing the civil service commission to submit his name for the job, commission president Mike Dallos said.

"The Civil Service Commission submitted the name of Capt. Jeff Carley to Mayor Peterson to fill the position of fire chief because Mr. Carley scored the highest on the exam we administered to fill this rank," Dallos said. "Both men's scores were very close and either one of them would be a fine chief.”

Garrison said he supports the promotional process used by his department.

"I am sure Jeff will make an excellent chief of the Wyandotte Fire Department and (I) look forward to continuing our longstanding working relationship," Garrison said.

Members of the Police and Fire Commission are expected to vote on the issue at their meeting Tuesday.

The city council also must concur with the nomination before Carley is offered the position. Because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the council will not meet on Jan. 16. Instead, the fire chief's position will be before the council at their Jan. 23 meeting.

MacDonald, however, is retiring Jan. 17, leaving about a week between one chief leaving and another being appointed.

Peterson said the Police and Fire Commission is expected to appoint Carley as interim chief on Tuesday, allowing him to assume the position before he is formerly offered the job at the Jan. 23 council meeting.

MacDonald, who was named chief in January 2005, drew an annual salary of $85,500. While officials are still negotiating a compensation package with Carley, his starting salary isn't expected to be as high.

“You pay for experience,” City Administrator Todd Drysdale said. “We certainly wouldn’t expect to pay the new chief the same rate as the old chief who spent a number of years in that position.”

A message left with Carley seeking comment for this report was not returned by the time the story was published.