GEORGETOWN, Ky. — The city of Georgetown elected its first African-American mayor after the Nov. 2022 election, and he’s had an eventful first few weeks in office.
Mayor Burney Jenkins, a first time politician, has lived in Scott County for over 40 years. In the first month of being mayor, Jenkins has decided to fire former Police Chief Mike Bosse. Last night, the Georgetown City Council approved his replacement—Police Chief Darin Allgood.
It sparked controversy throughout the town, as Bosse had served 10 years, with many community members feeling like there was no explanation for the firing. On top of that, Mayor Jenkins is trying to solve utility rate increases.
He said his primary goal is transparency during his leadership. He’d like to remind his community of Georgetown of one thing.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. always says change takes time. We need people to be patient and it’s not going to be done overnight,” said Jenkins.
He recently faced criticism in the year’s first city council meeting on Jan. 9, where dozens of community members disagreed with his decision to fire former Police Chief Mike Bosse in this video. One community member questioned what direction Mayor Jenkins was going in with the comment below:
“I said to myself, what could the new direction be? There’s only one direction… the right direction. I’ve never heard anything negative regarding Chief Bosse. I’m trying to figure out what he did wrong?”
Regarding criticism, Jenkins feels that people have a right to their opinion, and said he can’t go into detail about this situation.
“There’s some things you can talk about and some things you can’t. Personnel issues you cannot talk about because it’s confidential,” Jenkins said. “People want to know the reason why and some things you just cannot say.”
After the first Georgetown City Council meeting of the year, Jenkins appointed assistant Police Chief Darin Allgood to the position of Georgetown Police Chief. The council approved Allgood’s appointment during last night’s meeting.
Mayor Jenkins said in a post on Facebook, “I have no doubt that the department will continue to be the ‘gold standard’ for Kentucky law enforcement agencies under Chief Allgood’s leadership, protecting and serving our community at the highest level”.
Jenkins is also facing resident concerns over a water hike that took effect on the first of the year. Spectrum News 1 previously reported 40% of the city’s population went from paying $13.49 to $18.75 per 2,000 gallons. To that, he says the city is working on a solution.
“We’re going to take our time and actually come up with some way that we can resolve this to where it’s not going to cost the taxpayers a whole lot of money on this,” said Jenkins.
He knows the role means constant learning, adjusting and listening to his community. Other things Jenkins is focused on are resources for the homeless, affordable housing and a community center for families so people don’t have to travel to Lexington.