New Crossville city manager expected to start March 6, already working on city budget.

Crossville's new manager Greg Wood is expected to officially start March 6 but has already received information on the city's upcoming budget preparation and is reviewing the data so he'll be up to date when he starts.

After ten months since the last professional city manager David Rutherford was removed from the position, Crossville has seen two two interim city managers and several employee morale issues.

The council has been searching for a manager for nearly 6 months and received some 40 applications. The council narrowed the list down to 6 and during the interview process three of those candidates dropped out of the running before the city selected Wood of Baker Florida for the position.

Council initially made the offer to Wood in a special called meeting February 7 and approved the draft of an employment contract during the regular council meeting February 14. The motion to approve the contract was unanimous with four votes in favor. Councilman J. H. Graham was absent as he continues to recover from recent surgery.

Council approves new city manager contract

In addition to the two year contract at a salary of $80,211 with a possible 10 percent raise in 6 months, the agreement includes a 6 month severance deal if Wood is not fired for cause. The effective date of the employment is March 6th and Wood will receive up to a $2500 moving allowance. Wood also receives health, disability and life insurance, a vehicle to drive and a $50 a month cell phone allowance.

During the interview, Greg Wood was asked for a series of words to describe himself and he responded that he was “genuine, a simple man, compassionate, logical, not taking himself too seriously and a team player.”

When asked about his impressions of Crossville, Mr. Wood said that “Crossville was a great place to live.” He said he had looked around and found out some things adding, “None of it scared me off.”

Greg Wood currently lives in Baker Florida. He holds a masters of public administration from the University of West Florida. From 2013 to 2016 Mr. Wood served as the county administrator of Harris County Georgia. From 2010 to 2012 he served as the county manager for Jasper County Georgia and from 2007 to 2009 as the county administrator of Holmes Co. Florida and similar experience back to 1984 along with a time in the military.

Wood did receive one of the highest ratings from the UT Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) consultants who ranked the initial list of candidates last November based on their experience.

The search for a city manager got underway in August last year with an initial deadline set for applications at the end of September and that deadline was extended twice because of a November election and new council members taking seats in December.   

Mr. Wood's resume is below: