Chris Dorsey
Chris Dorsey has resigned as East Ridge city manager.
Sources said the city council wanted to go in a different direction.
His resignation comes just after the East Ridge election.
A special meeting of the East Ridge City Council is to be held on the topic of a replacement.
The City Council agreed upon a compensation package of six and half months base salary.
A statement said that Mayor Brian Williams "expressed his appreciation for Dorsey’s leadership and time of service to East Ridge and its citizens and wish him well in his next chapter. Dorsey helped facilitate numerous economic development projects within the city during his tenure."
Council members had selected Mr. Dorsey and three other candidates from a list of more than 45 applicants to advance to the final interview phase in early 2019. At the conclusion of the interviews, Mr. Dorsey, a former Red Bank and also Signal Mountain city manager, received a unanimous vote from the council and was offered the position.
Mr. Dorsey said at the time, “I look forward to working with the mayor and council of East Ridge to continue to move this city in a positive direction. The city has a great group of employees and I’m excited to start this new journey with them.”
Mr. Dorsey has a master’s degree in public administration and is a certified municipal finance officer. Before accepting the position at East Ridge, Mr. Dorsey served as city administrator at Sparta, Tn.
“I am very excited to have Mr. Dorsey as our city manager,” said Mayor Brian Williams at the time of his hiring. “I am confident that he will be a great asset to our community.”
He said Mr. Dorsey "has 11 and one-half years’ experience as a city manager and vast knowledge with respect to city management, Tennessee legislation and other related Institutions."
Mr. Dorsey is a past member of the board of directors of TML (Tennessee Municipal League), has certifications from MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) and is a current member of both the Tennessee City Management Association and International City/County Management Association.