FROM STAFF REPORTS

The Troutman Town Council and Mayor Teross Young expressed their confidence in Town Manager Ron Wyatt in a news release Friday afternoon.

The news release came two days after Police Chief Tina Fleming and an officer resigned. Fleming has not publicly commented, but Officer J.D. Bumgarner criticized the town manager’s management in his resignation letter.

After Wyatt began his duties in early January, he was directed by the mayor and council “to begin the reform of practices, procedures and business practices of the Troutman Police Department and other departments,” according to the town news release. “Deficiencies had been identified and a plan was implemented to correct them.”

Wyatt had been working “on those challenges” in the weeks leading up to Fleming’s resignation, town officials said.

“The Mayor and Town Council have continued confidence in our Town manager,” the mayor and the council explained in the news release. “We wish Chief Fleming the best. We shall continue to work diligently to have an efficient and effective town government.”

Wyatt has appointed Detective Sgt. Corey Richard has been appointed interim chief, pending a search for Fleming’s full-time replacement.

A graduate of Mitchell Community College BLET program, Richard has worked for the Troutman Police Department since 2007 and has previous experience with the Mooresville Police Department and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.