New Crossville city manager Greg Wood expected to start Monday

It has been a bumpy ride for the city of Crossville in the 11 months since Crossville had a professional government manager at the helm of the city.  The last one, city manager David Rutherford was voted out in a special called meeting April 5, 2016 and Woods first day in office will be March 6, 2017.

New Crossville city manager Greg Wood

In addition to a lawsuit filed by the former interim police chief Rod Shoap over his treatment, grievances filed by one city employee against an interim city manager that lead to his dismissal as well as the dismissal of a department secretary and a written reprimand placed against the city's marketing director, a councilman and a city department head both faced criminal charges over alleged actions, and reports of serious employee morale problems in several departments have been discussed by council and the community.

We asked Mr Wood for his thoughts on what he felt his first steps must be as he begins his new responsibilities as city manager.  His comments follow.

Greg Wood statement: Someone wiser than me once said, “you need to figure out where you are, before you can figure out where you are going.” The first thing I need to do is a lot of listening. I need to build relationships and trust. I need to understand the personality of the new Council makeup and what direction they want to take the City. I need to faithfully communicate that vision to the employees and make them feel they are a valuable part of a team with a vision. The bottom line as an individual I will accomplish little without an effective team.

There are some specific areas I would like to pursue, especially in the area of economic development, but again, that is not a solo act, it takes a team and a vision from elected officials from both Crossville and Cumberland County, as well as stakeholders in the private sector. I am not of the mindset that the government holds all the answers, but I also remember that I work directly for the five Council members elected by the citizens. Finally, I will endeavor to instill the employees with the values of stewardship and accountability I feel are a vital part of public service.