MOULTRIE — Doerun City Council dismissed its police chief of 26 years on Friday following a lengthy discussion on his status last week, City Attorney Tommy Coleman said Monday.

A letter delivered Friday to Randy Hill notified him that he was immediately relieved of his duties as police chief and would be paid through his dismissal date of June 26.

Coleman said the letter was delivered to Hill by himself, Mayor Wade Ethridge and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bridwell. Hill has until Wednesday to appeal his dismissal if he wishes to do so.

“They had an executive session Wednesday of last week,” Coleman said of the session closed to the public.

The letter of dismissal, a copy of which Coleman had faxed to The Observer, said that Hill as an “at-will” employee and that the city’s personnel policy does not require that he be given an explanation of the reasons.

“There was dissension in the police department and with other law enforcement agencies,” Coleman said. “There was some -- (the) council felt like there were some management issues that would best be served by new leadership.”

Coleman said Hill has not filed a formal appeal, but on Friday appeared “verbally say that” he would do so.

“It’s not easy when somebody’s been in an office (and) a relationship grows stale and the city needs them to move on and they need to move on and there needs to be some new energy,” Coleman said. “We just felt like it was best just to leave it at that with him. They felt like the department needed a new direction and they felt like going in a new direction.”

Hill did not respond as of Monday evening to The Observer’s attempt for comment.