The Salem City Council has named Christopher Dorsey, a veteran municipal administrator from Tennessee, as its new city manager.
Dorsey succeeds Jay Taliaferro, who retired Nov. 1 after five years as city manager and 32 years of service in Salem.
Dorsey was selected from nearly 50 candidates, according to a release from the city. “We are thrilled to have Chris join our community to lead our city management team and our dedicated employees in the City of Salem,” Mayor Renee Turk said in a statement. “His extensive local government experience and strong financial background, along with his focus on communication and teamwork, make him the ideal fit for our city.”
Dorsey was most recently city manager in East Ridge, Tennessee, a city of 22,167 adjacent to Chattanooga; Salem’s population was counted at 25,346 in the most recent census.
Dorsey had been city manager for four years in East Ridge when he resigned in November following the municipal elections. The Chattanoogan.com news site reported, without attribution, that “sources said the city council wanted to go in a different direction.” East Ridge has seen frequent turnover in its leadership position. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that Dorsey was the seventh person to hold the job in 15 years. By contrast, Salem has seen just three city managers in that time, two of whom retired from the post. A statement from the East Ridge mayor said that “Dorsey helped facilitate numerous economic development projects within the city during his tenure.”
Before going to East Ridge, Dorsey was city administrator in Sparta, Tennessee, a city of about 5,000, from 2015 to 2019. Prior to that, he was interim city manager in Millington, Tennessee, from 2014 to 2015 and town manager in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, for eight months in 2014. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that he was terminated by a 3-2 vote “with the majority saying he failed to meet the expectations for the job.”
From 2005 to 2011, Dorsey was city manager in Red Bank, Tennessee, population just under 12,000. The Times Free Press reported he was terminated there by a 3-2 vote “for unknown reasons.” Dorsey also served one year as budget director for Pasco County, Florida, and began his municipal career in Memphis, Tennessee, where he spent 18 years. His service there included the post of budget manager and at one point was interim city manager, according to the Upper Cumberland Business Journal.
Dorsey achieved his Master of Public Administration degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration with a concentration in political science from the University of Tennessee. He holds a certification from the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Public Service’s Local Government Leadership Program, and he is a certified municipal finance officer.
Dorsey will start in Salem on Jan. 2. His salary will be $195,000.