After abruptly resigning last Saturday morning as East Ridge city manager, Curtis Adams was back on the job on Thursday.
County Commission Chairman Bill Hullander said Mr. Adams had met with East Ridge Mayor Mike Steele and East Ridge City Attorney John Anderson and agreed to go back on the job.
Commissioner Hullander said Mr. Adams stated that Mayor Steele had asked him to stay on during work on the budget and until a new city manager can be found.
Mr. Adams, who is also a veteran on the County Commission, had proposed a controversial 47-cent property tax increase for East Ridge.
When he resigned, he said he had become a "lightning rod" and it would be better if he stepped aside.
Mr. Adams asked the County Commission office to send out a letter to commission members explaining his change of heart.
Since he only received a verbal resignation from the city manager, Mayor Steele said he asked for clarification on Commissioner Adams’ exact plans.
The city manager has now written a letter to him and to all members of the East Ridge Commission saying that his resignation will become effective when a new city manager is hired.
Mayor Steele said he hopes to complete the hiring process within the next 90 days.
On another topic, the mayor said he and commissioners have been reviewing the proposed budget that Commissioner Adams had prepared.
“We’re now in the process of seeing what we can do to cut that,” Mayor Steele said. “There definitely won’t be a 47-cent tax increase. I’m looking at something now closer to a 30-cent increase – something in the low 30s.”