By: Hayden Kobza Editor-in-Chief
On Nov. 24, the City of Collegedale Board of Commissioners selected Jon Holmes, former City Manager of Aurora, Missouri, to fill the city manager position recently vacated by Wayon Hines. Holmes’ official start date is Jan. 5.
The selection was made at a special commission meeting, where Holmes was one of three finalists considered for the job.
During the meeting, there was some debate about whether the council should go with Holmes or James Ross, who currently works as a staff attorney for the Georgia Legal Services Program in Dalton, Georgia, and previously served as the Dalton city administrator. Commissioner Tim Johnson and Debbie Baker both agreed that Holmes would be a good fit for the city.
“I like Jon Holmes,” Johnson said.
Baker added to his sentiments, saying, “I have to agree with Commissioner Johnson. I think overall, just his rapport, his education, his ability to work with us and work with the staff, I think he would be a good asset. Not that the others weren’t capable. They had good qualities. I just think he stood out.”
Mayor Morty Lloyd and Commissioner Laura Howse said they wanted every city employee to be a part of the decision, and Baker said she had consulted with other city leaders to see what they thought of each candidate. According to Baker, the input of the department heads who will work with Holmes closely was vital to her decision.
Howse then expressed gratitude to interim city manager Andrew Morkert for taking over, and Vice Mayor Tonya Sadler shared her thoughts on the candidates.
“My top two are Mr. Holmes and Mr. Ross,” Sadler said. “I mean, they’re great candidates. The one that edged out for me was Mr. Ross. For him, he has experience in East Tennessee.”
Sadler said that she admired Ross’s experience as an attorney and what the mayor of Loudon, Tennessee, had to say about his vision for the city. According to Sadler, Holmes is accustomed to larger budgets, which was one of her concerns.
“One thing I wondered, though, is he has so much experience with a large budget of 100 plus million dollars,” Sadler said. “Could that work against him, where we have to be more frugal on a smaller budget? So that’s my rationale for picking Ross over Holmes.”
According to Baker, Ross also had experience with a large budget of over $70 million.
Once the discussion ended, Lloyd asked for a motion on any of the candidates, and Johnson subsequently made one for Holmes and Howse made the second. The commission then voted unanimously for Holmes, selecting him as the new city manager for Collegedale.
After some discussion of what the pay should be, the Commission decided that they would offer $150,000 plus or minus 10%, with car benefits and a $15,000 moving cost. Along with the offer, the Commission debated whether Holmes would be allowed to take on outside work while serving as city manager.
They ultimately agreed that the contract would specify that any side work must receive Commission approval. Ending the night, the Commission thanked those involved for their help in running the city while they had been searching for a full-time city manager.
In a commission meeting on Dec. 1, the board discussed Holmes’ contract further. They agreed that Holmes is not required to live within city limits because of the housing prices but encouraged him to live close by because emergencies may require him to be at the city hall quickly.
In an email to the Accent, Commissioner Laura Howse shared her thoughts on the selection.
“I spent the afternoon speaking with city staff about the city manager candidates,’’ Howse stated. “All key managers of city staff felt very strongly and unanimously that it should be Mr. Holmes. I will say I very much appreciated Jon Holmes’ dialogue with students from [the] Southern Accent, and his ideas for improving communication with the community. Tonight, the commission voted to extend an offer to Jon Holmes.”
