UPDATE: Murfreesboro City Manager Tindall to leave current position, move into new spot
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Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland announced Thursday that City Manager Craig Tindall will be vacating his current position by July.
The mayor also joined the other present Murfreesboro City Council members in accepting an amended contract for Tindall starting July 2 to serve in a special counsel attorney role. The approved agreement will pay Tindall up to $110,000 per year, which is less than his current annual city manager salary of $239,044.
The mayor and council members also suggested they want to promote from within when they appoint their next city manager.
"We're training the next leaders," said McFarland, who praised Tindall's upper management team that includes sixth-year Assistant City Manager Darren Gore and second-year Assistant City Manager Sam Huddleston.
McFarland suggested during the meeting that city employees interested in succeeding Tindall apply in April for a job that would start by July 2 to oversee government services from a workforce of about 1,300.
Yet-scheduled interviews in May would follow both with Tindall's upper-management team and the mayor-led council. The seven elected officials would appoint a local applicant if possible or conduct a national search, McFarland said.
The mayor expects applicants to tell the council about "their plan and their vision for the city" during public meetings.
"That way the community can see that process," McFarland said.
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Tindall's proposed new job would involve 4 city operations
Tindall seeks a new special counsel position after serving as city manager for six years and as the city attorney for over two years.
"I appreciate the opportunity to serve and to continue to serve," Tindall said.
The Council promoted him in 2018. Tindall replaced former interim City Manager Jim Crumley, who retired after filling in when former City Manager Rob Lyons agreed to vacate the job December 2017.
The outgoing city manager requested to step away from day-to-day city management responsibilities after leading efforts to work on the next fiscal year budget that starts July 1.
Tindall proposes to enter into a new contract with the council to serve as special counsel for the city to handle legal and administrative duties for the following:
Murfreesboro Airport: to provide legal and financial counsel to staff;
Murfreesboro Community Investment Trust: to serve as administrator for board that oversees city proceeds from the 2020 sale of Murfreesboro Electric Department to Middle Tennessee Electric for a base price of $245 million with $43 million up front and $17.3 million over 15 years, including 3.3% interest;
Solid Waste Authority: to help establish and serve as administrator;
Sports Authority: to help establish and serve as the administrator.
Tindall prior to accepting his former city attorney job in Murfreesboro in 2015 had served as a city attorney in Glendale, Arizona. Murfreesboro Council members more than two years later promoted him rather than interview finalists that a consulting firm recommended following a national search.
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Council seeks to avoid national search
Council member Madelyn Scales Harris recalled paying the consulting firm $65,000 for the national search for a city manager before the elected officials hired Tindall.
"To me, that was a waste of money," Harris said.
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The other present council members also agreed with the mayor to pursue an internal city manager search organized by city Human Resources Director Randolph Wilkerson.
"I have full faith in Randolph and his team," McFarland said.
The outgoing city manager also told the council that going internally to find his successor is a good approach.
"The city has an excellent staff," Tindall said. "The accomplishments really belong to our staff."
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Mayor praises Tindall
Mayor McFarland, who's worked with four city managers starting with Roger Haley, also praised Tindall for leading the government's efforts to establish a more efficient management team to help oversee operations.
"I have not worked with a city manager as detailed and strategic as you are," McFarland told Tindall. "This city is in the best financial shape it’s ever been and a lot of that goes to you."
Tindall's tenure included a 35.8% property tax hike approved by the council in 2019, which was the first since a slight increase in 1998. The city manager recommended a higher tax rate to fund the rising costs of schools, parks, roads, police, firefighting, trash hauling and other services for the fast-growing city. Murfreesboro reached a U.S. Census estimated count of 162,398 by July 2022.
The tax hike combined with the council's $14.5 million decision to improve Siegel Soccer Park won "Pork of the Year" recognition from the Beacon Center of Tennessee. The city pursued the soccer park project to attract regional tournaments annually through a 20-year lease with the Tennessee State Soccer Association. The association promised tournaments would lead to tax revenues from an estimated 20,000 hotel room bookings annually.
Siegel Soccer Park also will be gaining a $270,142 playground to replace one dating back to 2005, the Council decided Thursday.
'Pork of the Year' award: Murfreesboro criticized by the Beacon Center of Tennessee for 14.5 million soccer deal and 35.8% property tax hike
Tindall upsets BoroPride supporters
Tindall also faced criticism from BoroPride supporters after writing a letter fall 2022 to the LGBTQ+ festival organizers to tell them he would deny future permits for the annual event that includes a drag show. The letter accused BoroPride of exposing “children to a harmful prurient interest.”
BoroPride and the American Civil Liberties Union sued Tindall and the Council to ensure the city would not stop the festival held October 2023 at Tennessee Miller Coliseum that's owned by Middle Tennessee State University.
The council settled the case by February with a $500,000 payment to BoroPride and the ACLU. The government also agreed to repeal both an outdated city code with language from the late 1940s that made homosexuality illegal and a controversial community decency standards ordinance that BoroPride and the ACLU said violated First Amendment rights.
The majority of the council previously approved the now repealed community decency standards ordinance June 2023. Only Vice Mayor Bill Shacklett opposed after expressing concerns about book banning and denying freedom of speech rights.
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Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: UPDATE: Murfreesboro city manager plans to leave position by July
