G’town board reviews planning
Vacancy also discussed
The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen will have a tight 30-day window to appoint a new member once Mike Palazzolo becomes mayor next month.
In the meantime, commission liaison appointments and long-range planning are on hold until the board, which will have a total of three new members and a new mayor, is complete.
The board and city leaders reviewed the time line during a retreat Friday afternoon in a Fire Station 4 conference room.
Departing board members John Drinnon and Greg Marcom, in addition to retiring Mayor Sharon Goldsworthy, participated, as well as the two aldermen- elect — John Barzizza and Mary Anne Gibson. George Brogdon, who lost last week’s race for mayor to Palazzolo, also attended. Brogdon vowed to stay involved despite the loss.
Palazzolo, Gibson and Barzizza will be sworn in Dec. 15. The board will meet the following day to declare a vacancy for Palazzolo’s alderman position, and the city will begin taking applications.
“The city’s charter is crystal clear on how the board makes appointments,” City Administrator Patrick Lawton said.
The board could adjust the time line, but Lawton recommended a Jan. 2 deadline for applications, providing the four board members three days to review applications before meeting Jan. 5 to choose whom to interview. Candidates would be told of the interview day, likely Jan. 9, according to Lawton’s time line.
Applicants must be at least 25, a registered voter in Tennessee, and a resident of Germantown for at least the previous 60 days.
Aldermen must deliberate about the candidates in a public meeting and make a motion to appoint someone. A 3-1 vote is necessary for appointment.
While the charter allows the mayor to vote in such matters, Palazzolo indicated he would not make a selection.
Lawton said if aldermen fail to appoint someone within the 30 days, the Shelby County Election Commission would call a special election.
“It does create a tight time frame,” Lawton said.
Officials also discussed the process for creating the city’s next long-term plan, a successor to the current “2020 plan.”
Goldsworthy noted this would be the first long-range plan for the city that included an education component and would foster a discussion about the role of the city in that planning. “We know
technically what our job is, but what are the opportunities?” she said.
Lawton said aldermen could appoint approximately 30 people to a steering committee that he and his staff would facilitate, but not otherwise direct.
The committee would review the city’s current status and develop a strategic vision for its future.
Lawton said one of the city’s short-term challenges is balancing the utility fund, even after the city raised water rates 30 percent this summer. The state will no longer allow the city to take money from the general fund to balance the utility fund before the end of the fiscal year.
When asked if staff cuts in the utility department were possible, Lawton said all options are on the table, but that raising rates again is “the furthest thing from our minds.”
“The bottom line is consumption’s down,” he said. “It’s like any other manufacturing plant. If you’re not selling what you’re producing, you’ve got to go back and look at your production.”