During the past several weeks, the Town of Collierville has undergone some turmoil with the departure of two leaders in notable positions.
Ex-Collierville Town Administrator Molly Mehner
— who was in charge of running the day-to-day operations of Collierville — “amicably parted ways” with the Town, according to a news release on Sept. 18. The Town has agreed to pay Mehner severancein the amount equal to her current salary for nine months.Mehner came under fire from some residents and officials due to the handling of former Fire and Rescue Chief John Selberg’s alleged subpar work performance. Selberg later resigned amid questions about his leadership of the department.
In past board meetings, residents also questioned Collierville Mayor Maureen
Fraser and aldermen about a car allowance "overpayment" to Mehner. Fraser said the overpayment was due to a clerical error.
Fraser said going back to January 2022, a few months after Mehner was hired in October, the Town clerk in the finance department set up, in error, a $450 car allowance to Mehner each pay period instead of per month. However, Fraser told the Commercial Appeal that Mehner repaid the Town in full.
“The paychecks go out twice a month ... it was discovered right after I became the mayor (2024),” Fraser said. “It’s a direct deposit, and we don’t have deposit slips. It went straight into her account. ... The finance department then worked on a prepayment plan with Molly. She was paying it back, and she has paid it in full prior to her severance agreement.”
What led to Town admin's exit
Fraser said Mehner’s decision to leave her role was because she did not feel she had the full backing of the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
“I would say the town administrator works at the will of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen,” Fraser said. “With everything that happened, she (Mehner) did not feel like she had 100% support of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. She felt she couldn’t do her job how she needed to do her job if all of the BMA members did not support her.
"So, that’s when she decided it was time to move on.”
After the abrupt exit of Mehner, Collierville’s deputy town administrator Katrina Amos-Atkins was recently appointed by Fraser with the full support of the board to assume the role of interim town administrator. Amos-Atkins has served as Collierville’s first deputy town administrator since September 2024.
Fraser believed it was an ideal choice to go with Amos-Atkins.
“When Molly left, that’s why it was so important for me to make sure that all board members supported Katrina on the interim basis,” Fraser said. “They did meet with her one-on-one or by phone last Friday. Katrina felt good about it, and they (board) all felt good about it. We feel the citizens want the best and at this point, she’s the best person for the job.”
Handling of fire chief's controversial exit
Following the resignation and retirement of Selberg, Fraser released a statement saying the fire chief’s situation “could have been handled far better."
Selberg was accused of using offensive language toward Mehner(which he refuted) in a public space in front of his command staff, town employees and members of the public, and was placed on administrative leave Aug. 10. A scheduled BMA meeting that night on Aug. 10 was canceled due to a power outage at Town Hall.
“Had the power not gone out, then none of that interaction what we heard took place in the foyer would have happened,” Fraser said. “We would have been in a meeting. I also think that putting the chief on administrative leave without more of an explanation caused a lot of people to be upset.”
Fraser was adamant that a lot of people on social media were saying things that were not true, following the fallout of Selberg.
“You go back to if we could have had that meeting, then I think that it may not have turned into what it turned into,” Fraser said. “I think a lot of emotions came into play on Molly’s side as well as the chief’s side. I think if we had the meeting and taken a step back, it might have turned out a lot differently.”
What’s next for Collierville?
The Town announced Sept. 21 the recruitment and selection process for the new permanent town administrator would begin in the coming days. The Town plans to retain a firm to oversee the search and recruitment process and collect community feedback on priorities for a new town administrator.
A few other top department positions are also open or soon-to-be open in the Town.
Fraser said a top priority is for Collierville to hire a new public information officer after Jennifer Preston left earlier this month due to family relocation. The position of director of parks and community services will also soon be open upon the December retirement of longtime director Greg Clark.
Fraser said things have been going well at the fire department under Mark Carter, previous assistant fire chief, who is now serving as interim chief.
'Have to get on the same page'
Fraser acknowledged there's a lot of work the board and Town has to do. She said any divisiveness is not good for Collierville and officials will strive to be better.
“We all need to do a better job as far as the Town goes in terms of communicating and knowing where to go to get your information,” Fraser said. “It was very difficult when everything was going on with the (fire) chief because all six of us had a difference of opinions.
"We all (on the BMA) have to get on the same page, so we can have a unified message. We’ve got to become the source of the information rather than letting the social media mob be the source of the information."
Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Fraser addresses Mehner's departure, talks next steps for Collierville
