Albany City Commission approves new city manager

ALBANY – The Albany City Commission selected its new city manager on Wednesday in a 5-2 vote, picking the candidate who was a finalist during an earlier search for the city’s top executive.

Commissioners Vilnis Gaines, Jalen Johnson, Bob Langstaff, Chad Warbington and Mayor Bo Dorough voted in favor of hiring Terrell Jacobs, who was a finalist for the position in 2015.

Voting no on the question were Commissioners Jon Howard and Demetrius Young.

Contract negotiations have not been completed, but the advertised salary for the job was between $225,000 and $275,000.

The other finalist for the position was Albany CFO Derrick Brown, who has been serving as interim city manager for about three months.

Jenkins has previously served as the city manager in the Georgia cities of Douglas and Union City and was assistant manager for the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government. Since 2018 he has served as municipal services consultant with the Georgia Municipal Association.

In his capacity with the GMA, Jenkins has served as facilitator for Albany commission retreats for several years, Ward IV Commissioner Chad Warbington said.

More than 30 applicants applied for the position.

The commission would not have gone wrong with either pick, Warbington said.

“We had probably the two best candidates we could have had,” he said. “At the end of the day, Terrell’s more seasoned. He has more city manager experience.

“Terrell comes with just a wealth of experience. He’s been doing the retreats like he has for Albany for dozens of cities. He knows the challenges. We have challenges. I think Terrell is going to help us make some progress with our challenges.”