Leadership for the town of Cedar Bluff has undergone a dramatic change, with the mayor and the town clerk announcing their departure during a special-called meeting Monday afternoon.
Mayor Martha Baker, in her letter of resignation to the council, gave no specific reason for her actions, other than to say she felt it necessary to resign.
Town Clerk Chelsey Chandler also resigned Monday and during the most recent regular meeting of the town council on May 12th, they accepted the resignation of Assistant Town Clerk Kelley Burnett.
The council has posted the positions of town clerk and assistant town clerk, in a bid to fill those positions as soon as possible.
Mayor Baker informed the council that she had appointed Council Member Billie Burkhalter to serve as Mayor Pro-tem however she asked the council members to set that appointment aside so that the new interim mayor could appoint their own Pro-tem.
The council did so, appointing Council Member Tammy Crane as Mayor Pro-tem.
Mayor Baker gave a notice of 30 days or until such a time when they could find someone to fill the unexpired term.
Also during that meeting the town council voted to cancel their annual Liberty Day celebration due to the resignations and the lack of having experienced people in key positions to handle such a large event. They did, however, approve the fireworks display for the night of June 28th.
During their May 12th meeting, the mayor and council discussed the fact that this year’s Liberty Day celebration could very well be the last due to a budgetary shortfall with donations currently standing at only around $2,500 although expenses for the event totaled more than $19,000.
The next regular meeting of the Cedar Bluff Town Council is scheduled for Monday, June 9th at 5:30pm.
