With two recent resignations and a third member of Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly's administration interviewing for another position, his chief of staff said Monday that turnover is not out of the ordinary this far into the mayor's term, which began in April 2021.
"I think one of the things that you'll see in any administration from local government all the way up to the federal government is that right around that 18 month, two-year mark, people who have been here a while start to possibly look for other opportunities," Joda Thongnopnua said in a phone interview.
Chattanooga City Attorney Emily O'Donnell resigned last Friday to return to private practice, Public Works Administrator Tom Hutka resigned the week before on Sept. 30, and Chief Financial Officer Brent Goldberg is one of three candidates in the mix for vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
O'Donnell and Hutka were receiving annual salaries of $168,678.01 and $160,680, respectively. Goldberg earns $164,441.23.
Goldberg, who also played a role in Kelly's campaign for mayor, referred questions Monday to the city and university communications departments.
"It is a huge opportunity for him to be shortlisted for this incredible leadership position within our community," Thongnopnua said about Goldberg. "The mayor has been aware of this opportunity on the horizon for him. (Goldberg) was recruited for the position. He was not pursuing it, but when it showed up, he had a conversation with the mayor and he and the mayor both agreed it would be absolutely worth pursuing."
Tyler Forrest previously held that post at the university. He succeeded Richard Brown on Jan. 1, 2021, and stepped down at the end of June 2022 to take a job as president of Tennessee Wesleyan University. As of Nov. 20, 2021, Forrest had a base salary of $262,013.
Thongonpnua also pointed out Kelly's administration has added several employees to its team. Quentin Lawrence, previously vice president of lending for Pathway Lending, will serve as director of the city's Office of Workforce Development, and Nicole Heyman, previously an employee of the New Orleans mayor's office, has stepped in as the city's chief housing officer.
"I think that in an administration with the size and scope and ambition that Mayor Kelly has outlined, you're going to see staff changes up and down the (organization) chart," Thongnopnua said. "That's pretty normal."
Chattanooga City Council confirmed Hutka's appointment as head of the Public Works Department in December. He previously served as the director of public works in Broward County, Florida.
Contributed by City of Chattanooga / Tom Hutka, who was appointed to the role of administrator of the Chattanooga Department of Public Works in December, resigned Sept. 30.In a phone interview Monday, Hutka said his decision to leave boiled down to difficulties relocating to Tennessee, citing in his resignation letter recent hurricane damage and family medical issues. Hutka said by phone that he's still in the process of selling his condo in Florida.
"I had a lot of work to do get it in shape to put it on the market and relocate my wife," he said. "The timing just wasn't working out at all, and I was running out of vacation time to go back to Florida and work on the condo."
Hutka said he enjoyed his time in Chattanooga, and the Public Works Department accomplished a lot coming out of the pandemic.
"We reorganized and got more efficient, more responsive," he said.
Specifically, Hutka touted efforts to fill all of Chattanooga's potholes, strengthen the city's street repaving plan and satisfy a backlog of building permits, among other initiatives.
"I'm very proud of staff and the work we did to get a lot done in a short time," he said.
Thongnopnua said serving as administrator of public works is a tough job, and Hutka managed to achieve some important accomplishments during his short tenure at the city.
"But also I think we have placed and the mayor has placed a very high priority on not just the performance of administrators in achieving metrics and goals, which is very important to this administration, but building a strong culture and building a culture of respect," he said. "That is going to be one of the primary lenses in which we look through the selection process for this next administrator."
The city is launching an immediate search for a new administrator of public works, he said. The city's chief operating officer, Ryan Ewalt, will fill that role in the interim.
"Given the importance of the role, we're looking for talent all across the country, but also we acknowledge there's some very experienced folks here in our own community," Thongnopnua said. "We'll take a look at the talent pool across the board and try to find someone quickly."
Kelly announced O'Donnell as his pick for the city's top legal position in late April 2021. She was the first woman in history to occupy that role.
Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Attorney Emily O'Donnell speaks in support of Tim Kelly during a rally at City Hall in Chattanooga on Thursday, March 11, 2021.Phil Noblett, who was previously city attorney under former Mayor Andy Berke, will replace O'Donnell on an interim basis as the mayor's office works with City Council to identify, interview and select a new candidate. That's the only joint appointment made by both City Council and the mayor's office. The city attorney serves both equally.
Berke, who took office in April 2013 for his first term as mayor, also dealt with turnover in his first two and a half years on the job, appointing three different chief operating officers, including Goldberg, before losing them to the private sector.
"If you're in a leadership position in the city of Chattanooga, you're not in a 9-5 job and certainly you're not in a 9-5 job with this mayor," Thongnopnua said Monday. "It is a challenging public service role, and the mayor has high expectations and expects a lot out of the leaders who are in positions of public trust in the city."
Thongnopnua said it's meaningful work, but "at the same time that does put a strain on people when it comes to the amount of time they can spend with their family or pursue other interests."
"I don't think there's anything unusual about that kind of shift within the executive branch around this time," he said.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @flavid_doyd.