As Ron Littlefield’s days as Chattanooga mayor crawl to a close, speculation is running rampant about what will become of one of his most contentious pet projects, the Education, Arts and Culture Department.
Mayor-elect Andy Berke has given no indication that he cares to keep the beleaguered department. Even if he does, it might not matter. The city commission appears prepared to put program out of its misery. During pre-election interviews with the Times Free Press’ editorial page editors, a majority of the people who will make up the new Chattanooga City Council stated a desire to shutter EAC and return the agency’s functions to the city Parks and Recreation Department — and for good reason.
Shortly after becoming mayor, Littlefield unnecessarily split the city’s arts and culture duties that were previously managed by Parks and Recreation into a new Education, Arts and Culture Department. When the mayor announced that Missy Crutchfield would manage the department, it became apparent that the new bureaucracy was invented to provide a seemingly important job for the daughter of political ally Ward Crutchfield, a former state Senator who pled guilty to bribery during the Tennessee Waltz scandal.
Little did it matter that Missy Crutchfield didn’t have the resume to justify her $107,000 salary and lacked the managerial experience to handle a $2.4 million annual budget.
Chattanoogans are paying a hefty price for Littlefield’s act of cronyism.