The Chattanooga City Council unanimously approved Mayor Tim Kelly's appointment of Phil Noblett to the role of city attorney.
It's a position Noblett has filled on an interim basis since former City Attorney Emily O'Donnell stepped down in October to return to private practice.
Noblett previously served as city attorney starting in August 2018 under the administration of then-Mayor Andy Berke.
The council's decision came Tuesday.
Noblett served through the end of Berke's administration and handled litigation for the city during the beginning of Kelly's term. Council members approved his appointment as interim city attorney in November.
Noblett is a native of Asheville, North Carolina, and received his law degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.
He has been a licensed attorney in Tennessee since 1982 and was a member of the firm Nelson, McMahan & Noblett from 1990 to 2009, acting as a litigator for the city of Chattanooga and other municipal governments in the state. He became a deputy city attorney for Chattanooga in 2009.
Noblett said Tuesday the mayor and the City Council recently approached him about filling the position on a permanent basis.
"I thought I knew a little bit about the work that was involved," Noblett said by phone, "and I was trying to make sure I helped the city achieve what it is accomplishing at this point in time on a lot of municipal issues that I'm very familiar with."
His new salary is $168,678, an increase of about $600 over his salary as interim.
Kelly named O'Donnell as his pick for city attorney in April 2021. She was the first woman to serve in the position.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.