Special Called Meeting Scheduled for Monday Night

Chris Dorsey has resigned as City Manager of East Ridge prior to Thursday’s City Council meeting. At the meeting the body unanimously voted to accept the resignation.

One source said that he supposedly resigned because he felt the will of the council was to move in a different direction.

The source went on to say that during the meeting City Attorney Mark Litchford said that Dorsey will receive six-plus months of his base salary. There will be no “lump sum” payment. 

There is some speculation that Dorsey was forced out, as it is common practice in municipal government not to compensate employees once they’ve left their job on their own volition.

Dorsey did not respond to a Thursday night text message seeking comment on his resignation.

In a written statement released by the city, “The Mayor expressed his appreciation for Dorsey’s leadership and time of service to East Ridge and its citizens and wishes him well in his next chapter.  Dorsey helped facilitate numerous economic development projects within the City during his tenure.”

It is not clear at this time who will be acting city manager in the city. During the meeting, Councilman Jacky Cagle brought up former City Manager Scott Miller as a possible interim City Manager. 

On Friday morning, East Ridge News Online asked Mayor Brian Williams who was emerging from a meeting at City Hall with City Attorney Litchford, who was running the city in the absence of a city manager?  Mayor Williams said the department heads were running their own departments.

Asked if the position of assistant city manager still existed, the mayor was unsure. He did say that no one inside of City Hall was currently assigned the position of assistant city manager. 

The council has called a special meeting on Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. to address the issue. When asked if the appointment of an Interim City Manager would come from within City Hall, Mayor Williams said that he did not know, and that he was “just one of five votes.” When asked if he had a preference on an interim appointment, such as former City Manager Miller, Mayor Williams declined to answer.

East Ridge News Online has learned that there was a meeting of department heads at City Hall at 8 a.m. on Friday. Presumably, Mayor Williams and City Attorney Litchford attended the meeting.  

Dorsey, who holds a masters degree in Public Administration and is a Certified Municipal Finance Officer, was hired as East Ridge City Manager in March of 2019, replacing Miller who had stepped down due to health concerns. 

Dorsey had previously served as City Manager of Red Bank and briefly at Signal Mountain before leaving to take the position of city administrator in Sparta, Tenn.