Henderson city manager loses his interim tag

The Henderson City Council voted Tuesday night to take the interim tag off Richard Derrick’s title and make him city manager.

“It is an honor to have been selected to serve as Henderson’s next city manager, and I thank the mayor and council for their vote of confidence in my leadership abilities,” Derrick said.

Derrick, who was named interim city manager in February, was assistant city manager and chief financial officer before City Manager Robert Murnane announced his retirement Jan. 29.

Derrick’s salary and start date have not been set, city spokesman David Cherry said.

Council members emphasized the need for the new city manager to take a “nontraditional approach.”

“We are on a verge of unprecedented times in our city, of challenges of growth of stability, and so we need to look in how we manage that,” Councilman John Marz said.

Derrick replied, “We heard you about the organizational structure. We will work with that. We will be innovative, and we will push the envelope to something even higher, higher aspirations.”

The council also awarded a five-year contract not to exceed $3 million to Georgia-based Utility Associates for body cameras and a new dashcam program for the Henderson Police Department.

The council also approved more than $1.4 million to be given to 32 Henderson schools. That includes more than $1.3 million in tax revenue from the Downtown and Eastside redevelopment areas to be disbursed among 22 schools. Nearly $150,000, 30 percent of recreational marijuana license fees from the first six months of sales, will go to 10 other schools, Cherry said.

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702387-5244. Follow @brianarerick on Twitter.