A deputy chief of the police department — or two — might be named next week, Mayor Paul Winfield said Thursday.

“I anticipate it to come up at Tuesday’s meeting,” Winfield said. “I can’t speak for anybody else, but I’ll be ready to take action on it.”

Police Chief Walter Armstrong has passed along five resumes to Winfield, but said he has not formally recommended any of them to the mayor and aldermen, who are charged with selecting a deputy chief by majority vote. Neither the mayor nor the chief would disclose any names of those in the running for the position, but Winfield said they include Vicksburg residents and nonresidents.

Armstrong has recommended the mayor and aldermen approve two deputy chiefs, one to oversee operations and one to assist with administrative duties. That alignment has been used in the past, but former Chief Tommy Moffett had only one deputy chief.

South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman — who supported Moffett and cast the lone dissenting vote on Armstrong’s nomination when the new chief was tapped in July — said he would “definitely not” vote to create a second deputy chief position.

“It’s a waste of money,” Beauman said. “Any way you look at it it’s going to be an extra person on payroll and not an extra person on the street. I just don’t think that’s something we ought to be doing right now.”

Winfield said he will support the hiring of two deputy chiefs, and noted it would not signal an increase in the $6.3 million the police department has been allocated for the upcoming fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

“He’s got to take it from his current budget. We’re not just trying to arbitrarily increase their budget,” said the mayor. “I support the chief’s recommendation (to add another deputy chief). I have full confidence in him.”

Richard O’Bannon has been deputy chief since the fall of 2001. He came to Vicksburg from Biloxi a few weeks after former chief Tommy Moffett, who also came from the Biloxi department, took office. O’Bannon said he was not aware the board is expecting to take up the issue on Tuesday, and added he will continue to perform his job to the best of his ability until told otherwise.

The deputy chief position was the only appointment of about 15 not made as elected officials started their new terms. At two separate meetings Beauman nominated O’Bannon for reappointment, but did not get a second from Winfield or North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield. The mayor said at that time he did not care who filled the position, and asked Armstrong to come back to the board with some recommendations.

Monday is a holiday for city, state and federal employees. Tuesday’s meeting starts at 10 a.m. in room 109 of the City Hall Annex, 1415 Walnut St.

*

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com