2 new people will guide Phenix City growth, law enforcement. Here’s how they’ll do it

One of Phenix City’s newest positions is helping the city manage its significant population growth and growing need for more emergency services.

Former police chief Ray Smith has now taken over as Public Safety Director full time after serving in both roles for approximately two years. The transition was possible once former Assistant Chief George Staudinger took over as the new police chief for Phenix City.

“We’ve always talked about having a public safety director to kind of manage as assistant to the city manager since the 90s,” said former Phenix City Police Chief and now Public Safety Director Ray Smith.

Smith said the position has been experimented with in the past but has now come to fruition due to Phenix City’s growth. Smith has been in this role since October 2021 when the position was put into the city’s budget, according to Phenix City Human Resources Director Stephanie Chastain.

The public safety director position was included in the city’s budget and passed by city council, according to Chastain. However, the person who fills the position is ultimately appointed by the city manager, according to City Manager for Phenix City Wallace Hunter

Census data shows that in 1990 25,312 people lived in Phenix City which has grown to 38,816 people as of the 2020 census.

Smith had served as Police Chief for Phenix City Police Department since 2009 up until this month when he took over full time as Public Safety Director for Phenix City. Smith has been apart of the police department for more than 34 years.

Smith said that he has been the Public Safety Director since 2021 while he was still retaining the chief title with then Deputy Chief Staudinger helping with the day to day operation of the department.

“George has proven himself as a competent administrator in his own right and he’s ready to take on that responsibility,” Smith said of Staudinger’s appointment to chief.

Chief Staudinger was sworn in as the new police chief on July 18 having previously served as assistant chief under Smith and has spent 31 years in the department.

Staudinger said he spent about 13 years in the criminal investigations division as a lieutenant and captain before moving to an administrative function.

Smith said part of his duties will involve going to the Alabama legislature and making sure the laws they are writing don’t hinder the ability of police to do their jobs.

“I’m here as a support mechanism now from this point forward,” Smith said.

Hunter has told the Ledger-Enquirer that the fire department, police department, and code enforcement fall under the public safety director’s purview.

The person who fills the position of public safety director is appointed by the city manager, according to Hunter.

The Future of the Department

“I’m a product of this department. I’ve come up through the ranks, held every supervisory position in the Department. So, I know how each unit runs,” Staudinger said.

Staudinger said he plans to address the department’s personnel shortage and come up with strategies to bring in new personnel and retain existing personnel.

“I can’t think of an anymore fulfilling or rewarding job than this,” Staudinger said about being a police officer.

Staudinger said the the Phenix City Police Department currently has 93 sworn positions budgeted for but is currently 28 positions below that number.

Staudinger says he does plan on appointing a new deputy chief but no timeline has been set at this time.

Smith said the Phenix City Police Department has been facing issues with “Permitless” Carry legislation passed by the state of Alabama that went into effect this year.

Smith said the way the law was written has caused issues for law enforcement. Smith said the law states that people are required to disclose to law enforcement officers that they have a weapon on them if asked by the officer.

If law enforcement finds a firearm on the person after being asked, that person has broken the law but the legislature never wrote a punishment into the legislation. Smith said this has caused issues with what to charge the person with for breaking the law.

Smith said a “Certain Persons Forbidden” database was supposed to be online when the legislation went into effect but hasn’t. Smith said now he can advocate for the state to get the database up and running with his new position.

Staudinger said that a few weeks after the legislation went into place there was an incident where an officer responded to public housing in regards to shots fired.

The officer asked a group of individuals whether they were armed and at least one said they weren’t armed and ended up running from the officer, according to Staudinger. After a foot chase the officer caught and detained the individual and found a gun on the suspect, Staudinger said.

“We need somebody somebody advocating for us,” said Staudinger. “If you don’t get some input from law enforcement from the police and sheriffs that are out here enforcing the law, you’re going to leave some big gaping holes in these laws that make it harder for us to do our job.”

Salaries

With their new roles the pay for Smith and Staudinger has increased with their promotions. Smith is now making $134,108 as the Public Safety Director, according to Chastain.

Prior to being named public safety director, Smith was being paid $117,849 when he was chief.

Staudinger’s salary is $101,444 in his new position as police chief, according to Chastain. Prior to being named chief Staudinger’s salary was $84,256 as assistant chief of the police department.

Chastain said that salaries are determined by multiple factors including time in the department and average salaries for police chiefs in similarly sized municipalities. Smith has been serving Phenix City for 34 years and Staudinger has served the community for 31 years.

What Smith and Staudinger say about each other

“There’s no replacement for all those years of him (Smith) being up here,” Staudinger said. “Having him still actively involved as the Public Safety Director is a huge benefit to me and this department because of that wealth of knowledge.”

“George is much closer to the personnel on the ground than I have been and that’s why I think he’ll be more successful in being able to advocate for what they need,” Smith said.