July 19, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
A new appointment is to be made to DeKalb Utility District Board of Commissioners
Hugh Washer, a longtime member of the board representing DeKalb County, will be stepping down at the end of his term August 31. The three on the list to replace him are Richard Close, C.D. Webb, and Hugh Turner. One, most likely Close, will be appointed.
The appointment is to be made official by the county mayor and county commission during Monday night’s regular monthly meeting.
Washer is one of three members on the board who serves DeKalb County. Each term is for four years.
By law, the DUD board must submit the names of three nominees to fill each position, listed in order of preference. During a recent meeting, the board voted to submit the names of Close, Webb, and Turner in that order to the DeKalb County Mayor for this year’s appointment.
The general provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated (State Law) TCA § 7-82-307 provide that the utility board members must submit three nominees, listed in order of preference, to the county mayor (where the vacancy exists). The county mayor has the authority to appoint one of the nominees to the vacant position on the board or reject all of the nominees. If the county mayor rejects all three nominees, then the board of (utility) commissioners has to submit three additional nominees to the county mayor for consideration.
The DUD Board is made up of five members, three from DeKalb County (Jimmy Womack, Kerry Davis, and Hugh Washer), one from Cannon (Roger Turney), and one from Smith County (Danny Bass). The terms are staggered.