The Oak Ridge, Tenn., City Council has voted five-to-two to hire Randall Hemann, the current city manager of Mooresville, N.C., as its new city manager, according to a notice on the Oak Ridge municipal website.
During an Aug. 18 special meeting, the council selected Hemann, over Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, a former city manager for Duncanville, Texas who also has worked in government administration in Los Alamos County, N.M., home of the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory.
In mid-August, both candidates participated in a public forum in Oak Ridge.
A motion was passed for the Oak Ridge mayor and city attorney to negotiate a contract agreement, and the contract has been presented to Hemann, according to the notice. Once finalized, the contract must still be approved by the city council. The salary range is expected to be between $200,000 and $215,000 annually.
Hemann, who has also worked as a city manager in High Point, N.C., and Oxford, N.C., will succeed Mark Watson who retired in May. The city of Oak Ridge, population 31,000, is home to the DOE’s Oak Ridge Site.
A video of the council meeting can be found here.
