A newly released memo is filling in the timeline behind Collierville Fire Chief John Selberg's paid administrative leave, showing that Town Administrator Molly Mehner had already pressed him to resign weeks before he cursed at her in front of colleagues. Mehner placed Selberg on leave on August 10 after he told command staff, town employees, and members of the public, “I don't f-ing report to Molly Mehner,” according to the memo.
The memo, released through public records requests and first detailed by localmemphis.com, lays out a timeline that stretches back weeks before the outburst. Mehner had told Selberg on July 31 that progress was lacking on key operational fronts and asked him to submit notice of his departure by August 10, according to a memo she released. That same document frames her actions as an exercise of her responsibility to hold department directors accountable under municipal policy.
Selberg did not go quietly. In an August 7 letter released through public records requests, he acknowledged that Mehner wanted new department leadership but asked for a chance to address her concerns and lay out his own improvement plans, according to the Daily Memphian. The plea came just days before the outburst that led to his suspension.
Text Messages Add a Political Layer
Behind the scenes, at least one elected official was weighing in on Selberg's fate. Text messages obtained through open records requests show Collierville Alderman Charles Hall discussing Selberg's departure deadline with Mehner, at one point referencing the chief's “ego,” the same paper reports. The releases have prompted community questions over how much say elected board members had in an administrative personnel matter typically handled outside the political arena.
Those questions run into the town's own governing rules. Under Articles IV and V of the Town of Collierville Charter, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen holds sole legislative authority to appoint or terminate department heads by majority vote, while the town administrator oversees daily operations and personnel discipline. That split explains why Mehner could place Selberg on paid leave unilaterally, but why any permanent removal would require the elected board to act.
Interim Chief Steps In
With Selberg sidelined, Assistant Fire Chief and Emergency Medical Services Chief Mark Carter has been named interim fire chief to manage day-to-day operations, according to localmemphis.com. Carter joined Collierville Fire in December 2021 as EMS chief before stepping into the interim role.
Selberg's career in the region stretches back decades. Before joining Collierville in July 2022, he spent 11 years as fire chief and emergency management director in neighboring Germantown, capping a career that began as a volunteer firefighter in 1977, per Tennessee Town & City. He rose through the ranks in Germantown as lieutenant, battalion chief, fire marshal, and assistant chief, and former colleagues have credited him with specialized state and federal disaster response experience, including a deployment to the Pentagon after the September 11 attacks and response work following Hurricane Katrina as a task force team leader with Tennessee Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1.
He succeeded career veteran Buddy Billings, who retired in July 2022 after 44 years with the Collierville Fire Department, including six years as chief. Billings had started as a 16-year-old volunteer in the 1970s before rising to lead the department.
A Department That Grew Under His Watch
Selberg's tenure included a notable capital milestone for the department. Collierville Fire & Rescue built and opened Firehouse Station No. 6, a 15,937-square-foot facility completed late last year that houses Shelby County's first Safe Haven Baby Box, a project Hoodline covered from groundbreaking to opening. The station marked Collierville's first new fire station in 25 years and Selberg spoke at both the groundbreaking and the grand opening.
What happens next remains unsettled. Key questions still linger over whether the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will hold a formal vote on termination, negotiate a resignation agreement, or address the broader administrative procedures raised by the released records and text communications. For now, Selberg remains on paid administrative leave while Carter runs the department's day-to-day operations.
