Todd Pangle
Fire Chief Todd Pangle has been named as Dalton's new assistant city administrator. Mr. Pangle's selection follows an interview process in which both internal and external candidates were considered for the role.
Mr. Pangle will work with City Administrator Andrew Parker to serve as the primary liaison to certain City departments, authorities and commissions, as well as overseeing a set of special projects. Mr. Pangle's first day in his new role at City Hall will be next Monday.
The Dalton Public Safety Commission will meet to name an interim chief for the Dalton Fire Department, but a date for a called meeting has not yet been finalized.
"Mr.
Pangle has developed the ideal skillset for serving in this position following 17 years of supervisory roles within the Fire Department," Mr. Parker said in announcing Mr. Pangle's promotion. "Since earning the rank of chief in 2017, Mr. Pangle has provided exceptional executive leadership further establishing Dalton Fire Department as one of the most highly respected fire service agencies in the State of Georgia, due to advanced training programs, credentialing achievements and staff development initiatives. I believe Mr. Pangle will bring these same attributes to local government management within the City in its ongoing efforts to continue building Georgia’s premier city to live, work, and play."
"I think that since he is already a department head and knows the city as well as anybody does, and I think that his personality and Andrew’s mesh wonderfully, so I think he’s perfect for the job," said Mayor David Pennington.
Mr. Pangle has been a member of the Dalton Fire Department since the summer of 1997, rising through the ranks to become deputy chief in 2015 and then earning promotion to fire chief in March 2017.
"I’ve been fire chief now over six years and I’ve been able to see our department advance and to do good things and improve where we needed to improve," Mr. Pangle said. "With the opportunity to move into this role and still be engaged with the fire department, but also the police department in a different role, you know it’s an exciting opportunity for me to be able to still be engaged with what I do, but also to have the opportunity to have an impact in other areas of the City.
"The City has good things going for it right now and all of our department heads work so well together it’s just a perfect scenario for me to be able to make this transition," Mr. Pangle continued. "I’m so excited because it’s not like I’m going into something where I don’t know the situation. I work well with all of the people over at City Hall already, so it just seems to fit and it just adds to the excitement of new responsibilities."
"(Todd) has spent his life and 26-year career in Dalton and Whitfield County, and has shown unending dedication to the betterment of the fire department and City," Mr. Parker said. "For those reasons and more, the City of Dalton will be positioned for a bright future for many years to come."