With vacancies opening in two key roles, the Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday OK’d Vickie Haley and Phillip Noblett to serve as interim city finance officer and interim city attorney as officials work on filling those positions permanently.
Noblett has worked and litigated city matters for more than 35 years with multiple mayors and council members, according to city spokeswoman Kirsten Yates. He has served as city attorney or deputy city attorney since 2009.
Haley has worked in finance roles for the city for more than 25 years and has recently held multiple interim roles, including human resources administrator, purchasing agent, and for the past 14 months, deputy chief finance officer. Haley’s appointment will be effective Dec. 1.
Joda Thongnopnua, Mayor Tim Kelly’s chief of staff, said the administration is accepting applications for city finance officer and is working with the City Council to recruit a new city attorney, which is a joint appointment between the panel and the mayor.
“The good news for our community and the city of Chattanooga is that we have two fantastic interims in Vickie Haley and Phil Noblett as we really make sure that our finances are in rock-solid shape and we have solid legal counsel as we navigate the complexities of running a city government every single day,” Thongnopnua said in an interview.