City makes Interim Attorney Lachelle Pulliam permanent

Interim City Attorney Lachelle H. Pulliam will become Fayetteville’s permanent city attorney, Mayor Mitch Colvin said in a surprise announcement at the end of Monday’s Fayetteville City Council meeting.

“We're happy to welcome Lachelle,” Colvin said. “She's done a fantastic job so far as interim and I look forward to her serving as the city attorney.”

Pulliam was appointed interim city attorney last September after former City Attorney Karen McDonald left the position to work as Raleigh’s city attorney. Pulliam had served as an assistant city attorney in Fayetteville since February 2020. 

“I’m happy to serve the City of Fayetteville,” Pulliam told CityView after the meeting. 

City Manager Doug Hewett said he was “looking forward to serving” alongside Pulliam. In Fayetteville’s council-manager form of municipal government, the city manager and city attorney occupy the top leadership roles, reporting directly to the city council. 

“I think the council made a wonderful selection of Lachelle Pulliam as the next city attorney,” Hewett told CityView. “She is a Fayetteville native, and it's going to be a real pleasure to serve with her and watch her as she continues to grow into the role of city attorney.” 

Pulliam is a graduate of E. E. Smith High School, according to the city attorney’s office webpage. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Meredith College and a law degree from Charlotte School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in North Carolina and Georgia.

Pulliam previously served as the judicial affairs coordinator at Johnson C. Smith University and managed her own law practice, as well as briefly serving as an assistant solicitor for the City of Atlanta. Pulliam is a member of the Methodist University Founders Council and the North Carolina Association of Municipal Attorneys.

Colvin’s announcement came after the council had a closed session to “consider the conditions of appointment of an employee” before the meeting began. 

Here’s what else happened at Monday’s meeting: 

• Fire Station No. 4 project funding: The council voted 5-4 against approving the appropriation of $1.5 million in additional funding to the Fire Station No. 4 relocation project. The vote came after the council had agreed to remove the item from the consent agenda — the list of items approved without discussion — and set it aside as another discussion item. The $1.5 million would have gone to pursue litigation against the city’s project contractor, which failed to meet completion deadlines for the new fire station’s construction. Construction was supposed to be completed on Oct. 30, 2023. 
• Council Member Lynne Greene said she understood there had been “a number of issues on this project and a lot of workmanship issues, quality issues,” and could not support the additional funding until the bonding company had weighed in on the matter.
• Fayetteville State business hub: The council heard a surprise presentation from Fayetteville State University Chancellor Darrell Allison, who gave an update on the progress of the Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneur and Business Hub. The hub, which launched in September 2022, is a “one-stop shop for small businesses,” Allison said, with an emphasis on supporting businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans and local residents. The city supported the hub with a $250,000 investment in May 2022. 

The next city council meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 22, at Fayetteville City Hall, 433 Hay St. 

Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608. 

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