The Town of Trion Council voted Thursday to approve of a resolution to create a Department of Public Safety and Office of Public Safety Director. They also approved of Chief David Gilleland as the new Public Safety Director.

Trion Mayor Lanny Thomas told WZQZ News, “The safety of the citizens of Trion are of the utmost importance to me as Mayor. I know that the Council feels the same way. We desire that everyone in the town feel safe. This is not to say that our police department or fire department were not doing a good job. Both are performing superbly. It is our desire to make both departments even better.

In addressing the reasoning behind placing the fire department under the supervision of Public Safety Director Gilleland, it was done for several reasons. One is that the fire department is run by a volunteer staff. The Fire Chief has a full time job but makes time to run a fire department. Now that there is a director of public safety, the fire chief will no longer be labored with administrative work and decisions.

I myself am a part time mayor. I am not in the office eight hours a day. I rely heavily on department heads and staff to make sure the town runs smoothly. Now, instead of a volunteer and part time staff in charge of the fire department, there is a full time department head making sure the fire department has everything it needs to function at the highest level possible. “