Crossville once again appears to be the laughing-stock city government in the region.  This week The Upper Cumberland Business Journal published a scathing article criticizing the City Council for ‘running off’ the City Manager.

Below is the story:

CROSSVILLE – It didn’t take long for the first shoe to drop following this week’s suspension of Crossville City Manager David Rutherford – and the first fallout could deal a blow to the community’s recently initiated Horizon Initiative.

MMA Creative, the marketing agency that’s worked on the collaborative community plan since its recent inception, is withdrawing its services in light of recent events. The decision, while another headline in the latest political storm, magnifies questions about the future of the project, one that’s helped Cumberland County tout its recent string of economic development successes and more.

Agencies were to submit requests for proposals, or RFP’s, by Friday afternoon for further marketing services related to the Horizon Initiative. But MMA Creative, which has offices in Cookeville and Nashville, has since reconsidered, despite being encouraged to continue by numerous city leaders, elected officials and partners to do so, the company said.

“The obvious issue is politics. And it’s been our experience that no amount of marketing, public relations or advertising can fix that.” – Mike McCloud, MMA Creative
“It’s our opinion that your council ran off a competent and successful city manager…an admirable visionary who led the city through months of community meetings that showed what people thought your issues are…from drugs to wages to opportunity to otherwise,” Mike McCloud, MMA president, wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Mayor James Mayberry and obtained by the UCBJ. “The other obvious issue is politics. And it’s been our experience that no amount of marketing, public relations or advertising can fix that.”  THE FULL STORY HERE