Mayor Ron Littlefield said Monday that Education, Arts and Culture Department Administrator Missy Crutchfield was using an LLC as a marketing tool and not for personal financial gain.
But he said he was unaware that she had set up the private entity that was working on city projects.
He said he has directed her to remove any reference to the city from her BE Communications and not to work on its endeavors while on city time.
Mayor Littlefield said, “I was made aware of the matter involving the Department of Education, Arts and Culture Administrator, Missy Crutchfield, on Friday, September 24.
“I am convinced that Ms. Crutchfield was only using the BE Communications / BE Magazine, LLC as a marketing outlet for the Department of Education, Arts and Culture. While it was done without my knowledge and – for that reason – may not have been a wise step to take unilaterally, I do not think it was done with the intent to deceive or garner financial gain. Ms. Crutchfield is a very creative person who works many extra hours handling public event at city facilities on nights and weekends. She is an exemplary administrator and does an outstanding job with very limited resources.
“I have instructed Ms. Crutchfield to remove any reference to the City of Chattanooga from her BE Communications / BE Magazine, LLC website and cease working on this endeavor when in the capacity of her position with the City. This also extends to her employees as well. Furthermore, any such private endeavor that is associated with the Department of Education, Arts and Culture must have prior permission from me as well as City Attorney approval.
“I hope this puts to rest any questions about this matter. I encourage City Council members to address this in committee and look into this issue and ask questions. It is important that we learn from this incident and move on to the important work of governing the City of Chattanooga.”