News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Ben Rodgers will move on from his position as the Upper Cumberland’s CTAS County Government Consultant to become the Executive Director of the Tennessee County Officials Association.
Rodgers said after some 20 years with CTAS, he never imagined he would leave, but he could not ignore the opportunity in front of him. He said his experience with CTAS and the Putnam County Commission has prepared him to expand his work to a wider demographic.
“Building those relationships and really through training across the state through the classes we do has helped me get out there in front these folks that are not in my area,” Rodgers said. “And they saw that I’m passionate about serving. I’m passionate about county government.”
Rodgers said he has been with the Putnam County Commission since 2014, with his term as Commission Chair set to expire in August. He said transitioning out of that role will allow him more time to travel throughout the state and serve counties outside of the Upper Cumberland. He said whether he will run for Commissioner again in two years remains to be determined.
“As far as the county commission goes, I’m just proud of Putnam County,” Rodgers said. “We keep growing and we’re maintaining that growth as best as possible. We have some great elected officials here that, for the most part, public service is a passion for them. It’s a priority for them. Just working together with those elected officials and commissioners to make Putnam County better and provide a quality of life that we’ve not had before here, it’s a proud moment.”
He said he has seen remarkable growth from county officials since he began his work with CTAS. He said when he began, he had to provide a lot of technical assistance with budgeting. He said preparing, managing, and adopting budgets often required extensive assistance, but in recent years, county officials and employees have grasped the concepts of ideal and responsible budgetary practices.
“As Chairman of the Commission, you put in a lot of time,” Rodgers said. “So, I’ll be relieved of some of that time, the consumption of time that I have put in as Chair. I’ll be just a normal commissioner and serve in that capacity, so I’m not real sure how that’s going to look in two years.”
Rodgers will begin serving all 95 counties in the state in his new position starting Monday.
