To Neal Morrison, accepting the executive director position of the North Central Alabama Regional Council of Governments was a way to help those in need.

“I’ve spent my whole life trying to help people,” Morrison said. “I love north Alabama and this three-county area. I see a lot of potential in growth.”

Morrison, 45, of Cullman and a former state representative, accepted the executive director job Monday during a NARCOG personnel committee meeting.

He is scheduled to begin work on Nov. 12 and meet the full NARCOG board on Nov. 18.

“I’m just excited for the end of a long interview process,” said NARCOG Board Chairman John Glasscock.

The board voted to appoint Morrison as executive director in late September. He agreed to a starting salary of $95,121.98, with a possible step increase to $97,500.03 after six months and another possible increase to $99,937.53 after one year. The board also transferred over Morrison’s 123 sick days from his previous job in the workforce and skills division at Wallace State Community College.

Morrison, however, did not receive a one-year contract with NARCOG.

“There’s not going to be any contract,” said Rep. James Fields, who is also chairman of the NARCOG personnel committee.

In a previous article, Cullman County Commission Chairman James Graves said he and his county attorney were composing a one-year contract for Morrison. If approved, it would have been the first time a NARCOG executive director had received a contract.

“This was for his own protection,” Graves said.

Graves said Morrison was concerned about the stability of the job, due to the way the previous director, Ron Matthews, was dismissed from the position earlier this year. Graves said Matthews was dismissed with a simple motion and vote by the board, without much discussion.

Instead of a contract, Graves said he plans to propose changes to NARCOG’s by-laws at the next regular meeting to create some security for the executive director position.

“We’ll make sure to modify the by-laws ... any disciplinary action ... make sure it’s reflected on the agenda for the upcoming meeting,” he said. “In the past, there was nothing on the agenda about that. And every member of NARCOG has to be notified beforehand.”

Morrison said his first priority would be to acquaint himself with the NARCOG staff.

“My management is open,” he said. “We will have a roundtable discussion on what things we want to look at.”

After that, Morrison said he plans to look at all the communities in NARCOG’s jurisdiction to ensure they are getting as much support as they can receive. He also wants to look at the federal stimulus package and see if there is any more money available for NARCOG.

In addition, Morrison said he wants to ease tensions between certain NARCOG members and help the board move forward.

“I hope I can prove to Morgan County that I was the right choice,” Morrison said.

Morrison’s appointment created some controversy among NARCOG members, mainly because his selection was successful due to the recent addition of several Cullman County municipalities to the board. Board member and Hartselle Mayor Dwight Tankersley alleged Cullman County might have been trying to stack the board for the vote.

Cullman Mayor and board member Max Townson said in a previous article that new Cullman members were being legitimately added to the board about two months prior to NARCOG’s need to hire a new director.

Last week, Hartselle decided to resign its membership from NARCOG, after the board voted to transfer over Morrison’s unused sick time from Wallace State.

“Hopefully by pulling together, we’ll be able to do major things for the community over the next several years,” Morrison said. “Communities out here are struggling every day. We need to do everything we can to help them.”

Organized in 1966, NARCOG is one of twelve councils of governments across the state and consists of representatives from the county and municipal governments of Cullman, Lawrence and Morgan Counties. The organizations’ responsibilities include grants and grant management, urban and regional planning, community and economic development and rural planning.



‰ Patrick McCreless can be reached by e-mail at patrickm@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.