The town of Signal Mountain hired an interim town manager on Monday night after two searches following the retirement of Boyd Veal at the beginning of December. The first search failed to find a candidate that all council members felt would fit into the city. The second search ended with the hiring of Josh Ray in April. When it was discovered that he continued applying for jobs after he had signed a contract with Signal Mountain, the contract was terminated.
Returning to the list of candidates who had applied during the second search, one had accepted another job, another was unable to begin before Sept. 1 and circumstances had changed for Elaine Brunelle, which initially led her to withdraw her name. Ms. Brunelle lives on Signal Mountain and is a veteran and retired Commanding Navy Officer. An employment contract for a long-term interim city manager was signed at the meeting and she will begin the job on June 7, starting with a three-day orientation by current Interim Town Manager James Smith. “I feel this was meant to happen, and am excited to be part of the team,” she told the council.
Mr. Smith told the council that he received numbers from March and April too late to put together the fiscal year 2023 budget in time to have a second reading by the June 30 deadline. He recommended passing a continuation budget. Placeholders have been included for two vacant positions in the town, one in Information Technology and one in Human Resources, said Mr. Smith. The council members will have the proposed budget by the end of this week for review. The first reading will take place at the July 13 council meeting followed by workshops with department heads for fine tuning the budget. The second reading is now scheduled for the July 27 council meeting.
The town’s credit card limit has been $10,000 for all departments and spending has averaged $4,000-$5,000 each month. That money is tied up until the bill is received and paid resulting in the card being declined several times, said Mr. Smith. The bank gave permission to increase the credit limit to $15,000, he said. The council members suggested asking for as much credit as the bank will allow - to provide a safety net.
Last year, a stormwater rate increase of 30 percent for the following three years was passed. Residents will be reminded that a 30 percent increase will become effective this year on July 1.
A TDOT project on Palisades Road will require the existing water line to be replaced. The cost will be substantially lager than originally anticipated. Thanks to a meeting with the town manager, Director of the Water Utility Matt Justice and the project engineer, the town will receive some help from TDOT which agreed to provide 50 percent reimbursement of the construction costs, about $143,000 of the total cost of $286,000.
A bucket truck for the public works department was on the town’s vehicle replacement plan for this fiscal year and was budgeted for $125,000. Although it was ordered last summer, due to supply chain problems the vendor could not get or even order the truck. The truck from the only vendor that the purchasing cooperative has been able to find would now cost $155,074 including surcharges. And delivery will not be for 12-14 months, said Public Works Director Loretta Hopper.
The truck would be used to cut trees in emergency situations, which has cost the city $3,000-$5,000 each, in the past. It would also be used to respond to other emergencies and routine trimming and could be used for replacing lights by the parks department, which now requires that a lift be rented. Before a decision is made for buying the bucket truck, Mayor Charlie Poss asked about the possibility of leasing the equipment long term. Council member Andrew Gardner asked for a comparison of the costs for those services in the past, with the cost of the truck over its eight-year life expectancy.
The council members agreed that it will be important for the town to establish a social media policy and to have an employee to implement it. The new IT person could possibly serve in this position or it may be beneficial to hire a part-time person, and, if so, that position will need be included in the new budget.
Discussions Monday night took place about reviewing the town’s new personnel policy and the yearly review process that will be used for the town manager.
Vice Mayor Susannah Murdock gave a reminder that a second public meeting will be held at the Walden Ridge Emergency Services building regarding the mountain communities of Signal Mountain, Walden and unincorporated Hamilton County equitably sharing services. This meeting will be held on Saturday June 4, from 9 a.m. until noon.
Council Member Vicki Anderson announced that the new Signal Mountain Library’s reading room will have a grand opening this coming Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. She invited residents to come.