A leadership shuffle has taken place in the city of Hammond.
Jeff Smith recently retired as fire chief after 32 years with the department. A day later, Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. appointed him director of the Hammond Port Authority.
"Anybody that knows the former chief knows he's a Robertsdale guy," McDermott told the city council last week. "He previously served on the Hammond Port Authority Board. I thought he was the perfect person to take over."
Smith replaces Milan Kruszynski, who's now the manager of the Hammond Sanitary District. Bernard Grisolia was promoted to fire chief from deputy chief.
Meanwhile, McDermott said the search had begun for a new chief of staff, following Phil Taillon's departure to take over as president and CEO of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority. "I think it's a great launching pad," McDermott told council members. "Previous chief of staffs have gone on to run the South Shore Convention and Visitors bureau, the National Headache Foundation, Hammond Water Company, Hammond Sanitary District. One's a vice president at NIPSCO. It's like my backup quarterback."
McDermott said he planned to take applications from current city employees first, before opening the position to external applicants.
