With several looming zoning and property maintenance cases waiting to be resolved, Signal Mountain is actively planning to hire an administrative hearing officer to handle them as soon as possible.
The new officer will be replacing Charlie Poss, who held the position for about 10 years.
Mr.
Poss, who now serves as the town’s mayor, said the officer does not necessarily have to be an attorney but will be required to attend periodic training sessions.
Town attorney Harry Cash and town manager Boyd Veal told council members that local attorney Jim Exum, who already serves as administrative hearing officer for both Collegedale and Red Bank, has indicated that he would be interested in filling the position for Signal Mountain as well.
However, Mr. Cash added, there are other people in the Chattanooga area who are qualified for the job. For example, he said, three people applied for a similar position in East Ridge when that town was hiring.
“So should we open it up for applications?” Mayor Poss asked.
“Why not?” Vice Mayor Suzanna Murdock replied.
Council member Dan Landrum said he would prefer for the town to move ahead toward hiring Mr. Exum.
“We could hire somebody local who we already know,” he said, noting that Mr. Exum also applied for the position of town attorney when that job was open.
In the end, however, a majority of several council members said they’d like to have a chance to talk to Mr. Exum and to other potential candidates before any action is taken.
Members agreed to contact Mr. Exum and talk to him before the next town meeting.
Further, they said, if more applicants are interested in the position, council members can also contact and talk to them during the same time period.