Red Bank officials responded Tuesday to remarks by Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp that the city was "an unmitigated disaster."
Red Bank Mayor Hollie Berry said she is "disappointed that Mayor Wamp would resort to this kind of divisive national partisan rhetoric.
“In my opinion, that kind of ‘us vs. them’ mentality has no place among neighbors who all ultimately want the same things. Don't we all want a safe place for our children to grow up, reliable infrastructure, and a thriving economy?”
City Manager Martin Granum said Red Bank "is enjoying a revitalization that is welcomed by residents and businesses and the community overall; Red Bank is thriving. I feel that the County Mayor’s unexpected criticism of a thriving portion of Hamilton County is unfortunate.
“We invite Mayor Wamp to join Red Bank for a commission meeting so he can learn first-hand about the positive work taking place every day to realize the mission of the city of Red Bank to be a safe and thriving small-town community, and how we strive to realize our vision of a vibrant and inclusive community by pursuing excellence, enhancing safety, and preserving our neighborhood character.
“He can also learn more about our progress on the city’s Facebook page and monthly newsletter as both consistently feature numerous new businesses locating in Red Bank, touts multiple successful family-friendly community events, and illustrates countless positive examples as to why so many people are choosing to live and work in Red Bank.”
City Manager Granum said that Red Bank’s most recent budget "addressed needs across all aspects of city services, including adding two police officers, adding an additional firefighter 24/7/365, funding the city’s first-ever comprehensive plan and parks needs assessment, both of which are critical to determining what is best for the 12-acre parcel on Dayton Boulevard known as the former Red Bank Middle School site.
"These planning efforts are intentionally conceived to be Red Bank’s matching portion of Mayor Wamp’s county-wide ‘Area Plan’ effort he is right to champion. The Red Bank Commission appropriately funded the city’s departments and staff with the resources necessary to achieve the city’s goals and meet the expectations of the residents and businesses served."
Regarding the recent 57-cent property tax increase, City Manager Granum said Red Bank homeowners "are still paying a lower property tax rate than 75 percent of city-dwellers in Hamilton County, yet receive excellent services that are comparable to other cities in Hamilton County.
“The county mayor’s harsh words do nothing to create community-wide consensus on important matters that impact everyone, including Hamilton County. It is our hope that everyone in leadership will support each other as we strive to make Red Bank and all of Hamilton County a great place to live.”
“For my part,” said Mayor Berry, “I hope that, despite incendiary statements like those recently made by the county mayor, the city of Red Bank and Hamilton County can continue collaborating productively towards our many shared goals as we have been for years."
County Mayor Wamp on Monday spoke candidly about keeping and losing political power to his fellow Republicans at the Pachyderm Club.
Without naming him directly, County Mayor Wamp said County Commissioner David Sharpe is a "single obstructionist with an agenda" who is poised to take over the County Commission with "fringe" conservative ideas that he said will block the Republican Party program.
"If you don't think it matters, look at Red Bank, Tennessee," he said. "They took over Red Bank and have run it completely into a ditch."
"We lost control in Red Bank," he said, quoting state Senator Bo Watson. "Red Bank is an unmitigated disaster."
County Mayor Wamp said Commissioner Sharpe's "fringe ideas" have spread into public education and civil service jobs, such as popularizing the unionization of public employees.
He said Red Bank residents are "some of the best people in our community" and that this offbeat "progressive" and "woke" ideology also is "out of line" with what Black and Latino voters want.