Hamilton County names public works administrator

photo Todd Leamon is Hamilton County's new Public Works Director.

NEW LOBBYISTWhile Todd Leamon will replace Dan Wade as Hamilton County's Administrator of Public Works, the county also had place someone in Wade's second job as the county's lobbyist at the Tennessee General Assembly. Instead of adding an employee, county leaders have decided to contract with Will Denami, who will lobby for the county in Nashville and report back to county Mayor Jim Coppinger on a weekly basis.Denami is executive director of the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers, which represents county property assessors statewide. He will be paid $20,000 a year, the same amount budgeted for Wade's travel and expenses, Coppinger said.

Starting today, Hamilton County Engineer Todd Leamon adds a hefty role to his duties.

County Mayor Jim Coppinger appointed and the county commission on Thursday approved Leamon as the county's new administrator of public works.

Leamon suceeds longtime Public Works Administrator Dan Wade, who held the job for nearly 28 years -- dating back to former County Executive Dalton Roberts' era.

Along with his new job overseeing the highway department, building inspection department, support services and real property, Leamon will continue to lead the engineering department, and will report for all those departments directly to the mayor.

"Todd has the personality that I enjoy, which is 'we're going to get it done,'" Coppinger said. "He's a guy always looking for things to do."

Coppinger mentioned Leamon's work with development at Enterprise South, his involvement in local highway projects and most recently his work on extending of the Tennessee Riverwalk.

In a news release, Leamon said he looked forward to the "opportunity to serve Hamilton County."

Wade passed the baton to Leamon during Thursday's budget and finance committee meeting, nodding toward Leamon for him to read off the requests for next week's commission meeting.

Leamon's salary will be $115,880, which includes his $92,200 salary as county engineer.

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