Mt. Juliet city manager to resign

After managing the City of Mt. Juliet for seven years, Rob Shearer tendered his resignation late Thursday effective May 21 and conveyed to the mayor he has shepherded the city through tremendous growth and change and wants to now return to teaching and publishing.

Mt. Juliet Mayor Linda Elam said she accepted the resignation of Shearer, who began his service under previous Mayor Kevin Mack's administration. In an interview Thursday evening, Elam said upon receiving the notice of resignation, she thanked Shearer for his service to the city.

"Rob Shearer is a very bright man and has seen the city through tremendous growth, and I thank him for that," Elam said. "I plan to immediately contact the Municipal Technical Advisory Service to start a search process."

The Mayor was complementary of Shearer's successes during his tenure. She said Shearer has "graciously" agreed to remain in his position until June 30 at the commission's request, or until a city manager is appointed.

Shearer indicated he wanted the transition to be smooth.
"I wanted the City Commission to have sufficient time to conduct a thorough search for my replacement and decided that it was best to reveal my future intentions to the Mayor at this time so that a search process may be initiated."

Elam said she believed the City of Mt. Juliet has changed more in the past six years than it will ever change again in such a short period of time.
"I have been lucky to have such a dedicated person working with me for the betterment of Mt. Juliet," she said.

Elam also noted Shearer is a "very talented individual," and she wished him nothing but continued success in the future.

The other four members of the Mt. Juliet City Commission echoed Elam's sentiments, and all said they wished Shearer the best in the future. Three of the four squires have sat on the commission Shearer's entire term of service. District 2 City Commissioner Will Sellers obtained his seat the last election.

"I thank Rob for his service to the city of Mt. Juliet," District 1 Squire Ray Justice said late Thursday evening. "I wish him all the luck in the future."
Newcomer Sellers said he was surprised at the resignation.

"I'm sure he has personal and professional reasons for leaving," Sellers said. "I wish him luck and feel he's done a good job. It's been a long hard road for him the last seven years."

Though extremely sick with the flu, District 3 Squire Ed Hagerty made sure to extend his thanks to Shearer for "doing a good job" over the years.
"There's been a lot of issues to deal with," Hagerty said. "Rob has served the city well, and I wish him luck with his future endeavors."

And while the resignation took District 4 City Commissioner Jim Bradshaw "by surprise," this squire noted that now Shearer "can pursue the business he loves in publishing and turn to teaching."

Shearer has owned publishing company Greenleaf Press for many years.
The Mayor said she looks forward to working with MTAS to identify appropriate candidates for the position.

"I expect to narrow the pool of applicants to a handful during the MTAS screening process and then schedule individual interviews for the remaining candidates with each member of the commission," she said.
Elam remarked the commission will make the final decision.

Shearers tenure has not been without controversy. Danny Farmer resigned as city manager in 2000 and Shearer was named interim director. According to city officials, a search for a new manager then brought in 85 applications, which were narrowed down to five finalists who were interviewed. Though Shearer was not part of that final pool, he was ultimately appointed city manager.

His tenure nearly came to an early end when in 2003 Justice, Hagerty and Bradshaw sponsored a joint resolution to terminate Shearer, but upon second reading Bradshaw pulled his sponsorship for the resolution, indicating then he'd spoken with Shearer and felt his concerns would be addressed.

Last year city commissioners requested Shearer go through an evaluation process. However, they were disappointed in the evaluation survey they considered insufficient and outdated.

Last Monday when Shearer was absent during the city commission meeting, several commissioners expressed dissatisfaction over information they requested from him that was not presented in a timely manner.

Elam said she hoped the search would move quickly, but it was important to "get the right person for the job.

"Which means someone with prior experience as city manager of a city larger than or growing as fast as Mt. Juliet," she said.

Mt. Juliet Managing Editor Laurie Everett can be reached at 754-6397 or by e-mail at mtjulietnews@tds.net