The Signal Mountain Town Council will soon be down to four members as a result of Councilwoman Vicki Anderson's resignation. Mayor Charles Poss informed council members of the change at their work session earlier this week.
"My time on the Town Council has been one of the greatest experiences of my life," Anderson said in a statement read by Poss during the work session. "Serving my neighbors and friends in this capacity has been an incredibly fulfilling journey, and I would highly recommend it to any interested party.
"I have new obligations that are taking much more of my time, and a result, the responsible thing for me to do is to announce that I plan to resign my seat on the Town Council in the upcoming weeks."
Anderson said by phone that she did not want to comment further on her resignation.
"It's been an honor to be a member of the Town Council, and I'm sorry to leave," she said.
Anderson was first elected to the council in 2020 for a two-year term. She was one of three candidates to run for three open positions on the five-member council in November 2022 and was re-elected to serve another two-year term.
When former Councilman Dan Landrum resigned from the panel in 2021, the council accepted applications to fill the position and allowed citizens to submit questions for the applicants. Applicants answered questions and gave statements during a council meeting before council members voted on an appointee, a process Poss said he felt worked well.
Councilman Andrew Gardner said during the work session that his only concern with following that process is that Anderson's replacement would miss discussion regarding next year's budget, but he or she would still need to vote on it.
"If we wait for that process to play out, we're at the end of March," he said. "A lot of that work's done; that person's coming in and trying to play catch up and vote knowledgeably on the most important thing we do every year."
The council cannot begin accepting applications for the position until Anderson's official resignation date of March 16, Vice Mayor Elizabeth Baker said during the work session.
Council members have 30 days to appoint someone to the role or a special election is required, Town Attorney Harry Cash said at the work session.
"There's not a process spelled out on how to do it," he said.
In theory, the council could pick someone without an application process, Poss said.
Anderson did not say why she chose March 16 as her official resignation date, Cash said.
Unless Anderson chooses to move up her resignation date to the council's next regularly scheduled meeting March 13, panel members may call a meeting March 16 or 17 to decide on a process to appoint a replacement.
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.