There was a time, not too long ago, when we were considering governing Clarksville as a City versus a Town. We were operating as a “council-only” form of government, with each council-member serving as a liaison to the Clarksville public works department heads. We knew there was a better way to govern Clarksville. In late 2012, we established a twelve-member bi-partisan public committee and began a six-month public process to explore best practices of civic governance. After an exhaustive process of research, deliberation and presentations from governance subject matter experts, we determined that Clarksville should remain a Town and change to a “council manager” form of government. We found no distinct advantage in becoming a City with an elected mayor. Today, the Town of Clarksville is a “council-manager” government comprised of seven members; two elected at-large and five elected from our five districts. The Town Manager is a full-time professional who reports to the council and oversees the day-to-day operations of our Town.After conducting an extensive nation-wide search, we are proud to have hired Clarksville’s first professional Town Manager, Kevin Baity. And just in time, as we are currently experiencing record growth, with much more to come!
