Exterior of the Fort Wright City Building. Photo by Kathleen Bryant | LINK nky

Fort Wright introduced six new city employees during its city council meeting Wednesday. This included two police officers, a full-time firefighter/paramedic, a public works laborer, a finance clerk and a city clerk. 

This follows several recent changes in Fort Wright’s staff, including the hiring of City Attorney John S. Brooking after former City Attorney Timothy Theissen’s retirement. Additionally, there have been several promotions within the police department, including the promotion of former Captain Johnathan Colwell to Chief.

The introductions were as follows:

  • Police officer Nick Metzger started with the Fort Wright Police Department in July of 2024. He started his career in law enforcement in Lakeside Park. Now, he lives in Fort Wright with his four sons. 
  • Police officer Tyler Wallace was born and raised in eastern Kentucky. He has worked 11 years in law enforcement and will be a father within the month. 
  • Kerrie Holland is the city’s new city clerk, replacing Maura Russell, who held the position for over four years. She worked in the Kenton County Circuit Court in Covington for 10 years prior to this role. She is a resident of Edgewood, and has three children and one grandchild. 
  • Nyoka Johnson is the city’s new finance clerk. She joins Fort Wright after Kelly Perry left the position to join the city of Alexandria as their treasurer. Johnson is from Erlanger, where she was an administrative clerk for six years. She has one daughter and one granddaughter. 
  • LaMarr Burton is a new public works laborer. He has been in his current role for six months now. Prior to this, he was with the city of Fort Mitchell for nine years and the city of Crescent Springs for two years. City Administrator Jill Cain Bailey commended Burton for the work he has done so far with the department. “Of our new hires, you have been here the longest,” Bailey said. “You have been doing a fantastic job.” 
  • Zach Elkins, who did not attend the meeting, is Fort Wright’s newest full-time paramedic and firefighter. He was previously working for the department part-time and jumped to fill the full-time position when it came up. Previously, he was working in Erlanger’s fire department.