EMA names new director

Doctors differ over weight loss surgery procedures
11:11 a.m.
Income tax revenues falling short
11/22/09
Prepare a Black Friday game plan
11/22/09
City’s holiday season starts today
11/22/09
Holiday bustle comes to campus
11/22/09
> More headlines

By Josh Sweigart, Staff Writer Updated 6:58 PM Tuesday, July 14, 2009

HAMILTON — Jeff Galloway’s new job will be managing emergency response in Butler County. But first, he has some political damage control to attend to.

The Butler County Emergency Management Agency governing board has hired Galloway as its new director. He will start the job Aug. 3.

Galloway currently is emergency management director in Fentress County, Tennessee. Before that, his resume says he was a lieutenant in the Palm Beach County fire department in Florida, where he worked since 1978.

Galloway has visited Butler County and started meeting with local officials. He said Butler County is like a combination of the growth and density of Palm Beach and the rural character of Fentress County.

“I sincerely look forward to living and working in Butler County,” he said. “My goal is to bring the emergency management agency up to the next level and progress from there.”

Galloway’s 31 years of experience in fire service and emergency management impressed the EMA governing board, according to Mark Sutton, board president and Fairfield Twp. trustee.

But his diplomatic skills were just as important in getting him the job, Sutton said.

“I think his experience at different levels of supervision ... plus dealing on the political end of it, I think he’ll be a good fit to draw everybody together,” Sutton said.

Galloway replaces William Turner, who resigned in February after harsh criticism of his performance by two county commissioners and local police chiefs. Some say this illustrated a strained relationship between law enforcement and the EMA that the agency has since worked to address.

Sutton said he is hopeful Galloway can recoup some of the grant money Butler County lost this year, partly because the agency had no director.

Galloway said one of his first priorities will be pushing for a new emergency operations center.

The current center on the sixth floor of the Government Services Center in Hamilton doesn’t function when the power is out and gets poor cell phone coverage. Grants are lined up for a new one, but it still needs more than $1 million in local money that Butler County doesn’t have.

Share this article

ADD COMMENT

Comments feed

Maybe this new guy can come in and find out where the $35 million dollars we taxpayers put up for a new radios system went. Three years later, the sheriff is in charge of it and from what I hear it will be another year if ever that all police and fire departments are on the system. The system was turned in August that meaning the first years free maintenance on the system is over and no one has even used the system. Now the radios purchased are not the newest model, we got the old stuff.

Paul
10:47 AM, 7/15/2009

REPORT ABUSE

Some helpful hints to the new EMA Director: If Liberty Twp needs ice call the Sheriff. If you need someone to hog the TV cameras and say nothing call the Sheriff. If you need someone to pout and cry if he doesn't get his way call the Sheriff. Bottom line, in case of a real emergency, don't call the Sheriff. The local responders do quite well without him.

Rick
9:14 AM, 7/15/2009

REPORT ABUSE

Good luck Jeff! Congratulations! Best of luck in your new position. Don't know you, but you have to better than the last nitwit that had that job.

notagoodolboy
8:12 AM, 7/15/2009

REPORT ABUSE

I'm shocked, I thought Rob Smith the self taught computer nerd, fireman, with no education, who runs Hamilton would be offered the job with a minor pay increase of 33% from his previous position.

tiredofrob
12:45 AM, 7/15/2009

REPORT ABUSE

typical politicians........we have a proven leader and sound decision maker in bill becker who not only was an exemplary police chief, city manager and currently a city council member, yet we go to another state to hire someone that we HOPE can do the job.......go figure ??

w
10:41 PM, 7/14/2009

REPORT ABUSE

There are 8 additional comments

SHOW ALL

We welcome your comments. Please remember this is a public forum and behave appropriately. Your comments must conform to our visitor's agreement.