Charleston appoints Frankie McCartney to City Commission

CHARLESTON, Tenn. - Frankie McCartney has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Charleston City Commission.

In a recent meeting, Mayor Walter Goode and Commissioner Donna McDermott voted to appoint McCartney, who works at the post office in Charleston, after a monthlong consideration of three letters of application.

The city has been seeking a replacement for Commissioner Larry Anderson, who abruptly resigned at the start of a commission meeting in March. The other applicants were Tony Whitener, a former Charleston city commissioner, and Anderson himself.

McDermott, who made the motion to appoint McCartney, praised the "young, vibrant" applicant for his participation in local government and community events.

"One of the things that we had asked [is that] we would like to have someone who shows interest in the city," McDermott said. "There is no way to know what's going on in the city unless you're here."

"He seems to be an even-minded person," Goode said. "Maybe we do need a new voice, a new point of view."

"I feel as though I could bring a sense of character and input to the City of Charleston," McCartney said in a phone interview after his appointment.

Whitener, who attended the meeting, thanked Goode and McDermott for their consideration.

The commission seat that McCartney now fills could be up for an early election in 2014, when Charleston votes for its mayor, officials said. The term otherwise would expire in 2016.

Anderson vacated the position seven months after his 2012 re-election, citing frustrations with the job.

"I'm tired of things backfiring on the commissioners," he said shortly after he resigned. "I've done this for 10 years, and things haven't changed."

In other business, Charleston leaders also have approved the city's budget for 2013-14 and its new state-certified tax rate.

The new tax rate for Charleston is 43.92 cents per $100 of assessed property value, representing an increase of 1.6 cents, commissioners said.

The tax increase, made in response to a recent state-mandated property reappraisal, ensures that the city will maintain its current level of revenues.

The Charleston budget increased from $417,334 to $502,633 between fiscal years 2013 and 2014, said Janet Newport, city recorder. This was mostly because of a $75,000 federal grant for upgrading Charleston's park. The rest of the revenue boost -- about $10,000 -- resulted from Charleston's new Piggly Wiggly grocery, she said.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.

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