Mickey Starling: reporter3@greenepublishing.com
As the Madison City Commission met on Tuesday, Feb. 11, the city manager’s seat was still vacant, with no one in sight to fill the position in the near future. However, Mayor Judy Townsend and Commissioner Byron Poore proposed offering the job on an interim basis to Madison County Development Council Chair Doug Brown, who expressed willingness to fill in for several months while the commissioners sought another candidate.
After brief discussion, all commissioners agreed that Brown would serve the city well in the position and voted unanimously to offer him the job on a monthly contract until a permanent city manager could be hired. Brown accepted the offer, but jokingly asked that the interim portion of his contract be capitalized. Brown will begin his duties on Monday, Feb. 17.
Shortly after the city manager interviews in January, the Madison City Commission offered the job to Dwayne Flowers, who had held a similar position in Wadley, Ga. After ironing out a contract, Flowers accepted the offer, saying he was “95 percent sure” he would take the job.
After spending a weekend looking for a home to rent and consulting with his family, Flowers’ certainty about the position took a turn in the opposite direction, deciding that Madison “wasn’t a good fit” for his family, and he withdrew himself from consideration.