Sparta To Begin Search For New City Admin This Week

Sparta city officials will begin their search for the next city administrator this week.

Mayor Jeff Young said the search will be discussed during Thursday’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.

“I’m sure we’ll have several people apply, I would think. It’s a great job and we’re a great community so there should be a lot of people interested in the position,” Young said. “We’ll go through the applications that are submitted. There will be a selection made as far as ones to interview. We’ll narrow it down to three or four probably to interview and, at that point in time, the Board will make a selection.”

Current City Administrator Chris Dorsey accepted a city manager position in East Ridge, a community within the Chattanooga metropolitan area.

Young said the city expects to find a new city administrator by the end of the month.

“We hope to get fortunate enough to find a good fit for us soon, hopefully here in the next few weeks or 30 days or so,” Young said. “I’m sure wherever we find this person from if they’re already working, they may have to give notice there and put in a little bit of time. We would definitely expect them if they’re doing the professional thing to take care of their responsibilities there and not leave folks in a bind.”

Young said the next city administrator will be tasked with continuing the city’s recent growth.

“We definitely want someone that’s progressive in their thinking. We want to grow our community as much as we can,” Young said. “We have a small community, but we have a tremendous community just like all of the Upper Cumberland. Great people live here… and we’ve been very fortunate all across the Upper Cumberland to have many new jobs locate here, and it looks like that trends’ going to be good for the next year or so at least, I hope.”

Dorsey became Sparta’s city administrator in 2013 after serving as the Red Bank city manager in Hamilton County for six years.

The Sparta Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets Thursday at 5 p.m. in city hall.