WHITE COUNTY – The city of Sparta has a new administrator. The town’s board of mayor and aldermen officially named Christopher Dorsey to the position last week. Dorsey, from Hixson, has a bachelor’s degree in budget and finance and a master’s degree in public administration, according to the Sparta Expositor. Dorsey has held the position of city administrator in two different cities, including Red Bank, from which he was fired in 2011, and Signal Mountain, which removed him in 2014 after six months on the job. He had served 18 years in Memphis city government, including a stint as interim city administrator there.
Dorsey replaces Marty Carmichael, who retired Dec. 31, 2014.
Meanwhile, Cookeville city council members have narrowed their list for former City Manager Jim Shipley’s replacement to three. According to the Herald-Citizen, the finalists include: Vincent Capell, current city manager of Kingsville, Texas, since 2011, and a CPA with experience in both private industry and municipal government; J. Tyson Ross, who has served as the city administrator for Dalton, Ga., since 2009; and C. Seth Sumner, currently assistant city manager in Savannah, Tenn. Sumner is a University of Tennessee graduate with a bachelor’s in political science and a master’s in public administration.
Pamela Caskie, the current planning and development director for the city of Sevierville; and Michael Chesney, a recent interim city manager for Millington, a Memphis suburb, were among the five finalists.
Initially, 145 candidates applied for the position. Shipley retired in March; finance director Mike Davidson has been serving as city manager in the interim.
