Norris Council backs Whited to succeed Ledford
Bailey Whited
Whited, who has been assistant city manager since early 2023, will replace City Manager Charles “Adam” Ledford, who handed council members a letter of resignation on Sept. 8, effective Jan. 2.
The assistant city manager’s position was created by the council on Ledford’s recommendation in November 2022, just over a month after Ledford had been hired as city manager. But during the Sept. 8 council meeting, the council voted to eliminate the assistant’s position, as of Jan. 1, in the same motion that accepted Ledford’s resignation.
Ledford, who had been facing increasing scrutiny by Mayor Chris Mitchell and some others on the City Council, said in his letter of resignation that he was leaving for personal reasons.
Monday night, Mitchell made the motion to hold the special meeting Dec. 1, following the city Planning Commission meeting at 6 p.m., for the express purpose of making Whited’s promotion official as of Jan. 2, or earlier if Ledford should choose to leave the job in advance of that date.
The mayor and council members Loretta Painter and Bill Grieve stated their support for Whited, and said they did not believe the city needed to conduct a nationwide search for a new city manager, as it did twice in mid-2022.
But Councilman Charles “Chuck” Nicholson told the other council members that he would prefer a national search.
Still, Nicholson voted with the other members to pass the motion for the special meeting to consider promoting Whited. The vote was 4-0, as one of the five council positions is open – the seat that was held by William “Will” Grinder, who submitted his resignation about two weeks ago.
The council Monday night also formally accepted Grinder’s resignation, and decided to consider naming someone to fill out the remaining year of his term during the council’s next regular meeting, Dec. 8.
Any residents wanting to be considered for the council vacancy are asked to submit a letter or email by Dec. 1 to the city administration’s office. Candidates will be allowed to speak during the Dec. 8 council meeting.
Several Norris residents attending Monday’s meeting expressed their support of Whited’s promotion. Anyone who wants to submit a written comment about the selection of Whited or the process of choosing a new city manager was asked by the council to do so by Nov. 24.
As for Ledford’s resignation, the mayor and some council members, as well as some residents who regularly attend council meetings, have complained recently that the city has not been quick enough to address and fix some important city issues, including repairing and replacing downtown sidewalks and fixing the deteriorating roof on the city’s gazebo in the city center – which a group of concerned citizens took upon themselves to repair recently, even raising money from the community to pay for the new roof.
Ledford took over the city manager’s position on Oct. 7, 2022, after the city conducted two separate searches for a replacement for Scott Hackler, who resigned the position in June 2022, citing health reasons.
Ledford, 48, is a native of Eldorado, Illinois, and had been city administrator since 2016 in Marion, a town of about 3,000 people in western Kentucky. Before that, he was city administrator in Sac City, Iowa, from 2008-16.
Whited, 26, of Halls, was offered the assistant’s job on Jan. 31, 2023, after the City Council approved a contract for the position, submitted by Ledford.
He had been serving as city manager/recorder for the city of Rockford, Tennessee, since May 2021.
The City Council was not involved in the assistant city manager selection process, which was left entirely to Ledford.
The contract approved by the council specified an annual salary of $68,000 for the assistant city manager, along with other benefits, including a $300 a month car allowance, health and life insurance, and annual leave.
Whited told The Courier News at the time that he grew up “near Fairview Elementary School in the Heiskell area,” and graduated from Anderson County High School in 2017.
He holds a master’s degree in public policy administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Whited said that “being from here had a big role” in his decision to apply for the assistant city manager position.
In other business Monday night, the City Council:
n Passed on first reading Ordinance 714-2025, which would allow the city to license and regulate “adult-oriented businesses,” as defined in the ordinance. The motion passed unanimously, 4-0.
As of now, the city has no regulatory process for adult-oriented businesses, but does allow them in the city in industrial (I-1) zones only.
n Approved an agreement with American Municipal Services Corp. to provide collection services for overdue utility bills and city court fines and fees.
The collection agent will be permitted to add a 35% collection fee to the bills it collects on behalf of the city, rather than taking any fees out of the amounts due to the city.