Story Published:
Mar 4, 2010 at 9:40 PM CST
Story Updated:
Mar 5, 2010 at 4:25 PM CST
CookevilleTimes.com has received three inquiries from citizens expressing concern over “a position being created for a specific person in City government” who would be selected and placed by City Manager Jim Shipley.
One letter that CookevilleTimes received read as follows:
“The Good Old Boys are at it again in City Hall. They just made a new position called "Economic Development Coordinator" so that they can hire ex-Mayor Tony Stone's daughter Melinda Keifer. Read the posting for the position and qualifications. They were written just for her. Jim Shipley is going to retire in the near future and they are making this positon to give Melinda Keifer a position with the City of Cookeville so they can make her the next City Manager to replace Jim Shipley."
Another letter received by Cookeville times on the subject read that the job was being created "by a certain party who wants to take care of their own before they go out of office. Is she a Democrat?"
On investigation, CookevilleTimes spoke with City Council member Ryan Williams, who clarified, stating:
“The Economic and Community Development position was formerly known as the Grant Writer's position. The Grant Writer position was vacated when Cathy Andrews took a position in Chattanooga or the surrounding area. We found it difficult to find someone to just do grant writing and we (especially me) always liked the idea of having our own Economic and Community Development position which represented the City of Cookeville interests at the state level. The Chamber has done a great job and I felt like they represent the region well and that this position would represent the city while assisting the Chamber.
With the direction of the council, the City Manager modified the Grant Writer position to include the responsibilities of Economic and Community Development. Upon modification of this vacated position the City of Cookeville provided its employees, as was done with the every position since I have been on the Council, the information prior to submitting it to the newspaper.
The newspaper posting was put up several weeks ago for three days. We have had 19 individuals submit applications/resumes for the position and the city manager hopes to interview the top three or four candidates in the upcoming weeks.
This position is approved by the City Council, however, the hiring and firing of this position is like every other position in the City of Cookeville in which they report to the City Manager not the City Council. The City Manager serves at the will of the Council. The Council can choose at anytime to dismiss the City Manager.
The City Manager asks us for our input on most hires especially department heads but ultimately the decision is his.
The policy and personnel policies and procedures manual provides the how the vacancies and new positions are filled.”
Melinda Keifer is currently a Director for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and has served in a variety of leadership positions with city revitalization. Whether she is among the applicants for the newly created position is unknown.
