SOUTH POINT — The new fire chief for the Village of South Point will not be appointed until the regularly scheduled May council meeting.

David Hamm was expected to be appointed by Mayor Ron West during Tuesday night’s council meeting. Hamm would be replacing Chief Richard Stevens, who retired March 31.

After the mayor made the motion to appoint Hamm as fire chief, and before it was opened for voting, volunteer firefighter and South Point Fire Department secretary Debbie Stevens voiced concerns over the legality of Hamm serving as fire chief.

Stevens and the mayor engaged in a heated debate over the mayor’s choice for fire chief.

Hamm has not served as a firefighter for the past eight or nine years, and his firefighter certification expired in 2009. Stevens said it is not permissible, according to the Ohio Revised Code.

“He can’t be appointed without his certification card,” Stevens said during the meeting. “If he is fire chief before he gets his card, he can be arrested.”

Hamm said he understood the rule to be that he would have a year to get his recertification after becoming fire chief.

Randall Lambert, village attorney, said he had previously interpreted the rule to mean Hamm could act in an administrative position as chief, but not respond to fires.

Until the rule could be clarified, the council decided to postpone the appointment until the regularly scheduled meeting in May.

“I just want to check, just to make sure,” Lambert said. “I will look into the statute and contact the Department of Public Service.”

Hamm said Stevens’ interpretation of the law was not how he understood it, but that he is more than grateful for the mayor’s selection of him for fire chief.

“I’m more than happy to serve,” Hamm said. “I was an active member of the department for 20 years. It’s a great institution.”

South Point will remain without a fire chief until the May council meeting.

Stevens spoke to The Tribune following the meeting.

“I just feel that the mayor didn’t bother to come and ask his firefighters who they would like to see as fire chief,” Stevens said. “It’s not that I don’t like David (Hamm). It’s the fact that he’s not certified.

“I want to see somebody put in there who has been with the fire department and who has stayed with the fire department, but that’s not up to me.”

“I just want to see someone certified and qualified for the position. That’s what all this is all about.”

The mayor declined comment after the conclusion of the meeting.