HOLLOW ROCK, Tenn. — The town hired its fourth recorder since 2023 after Hollow Rock’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved the employment of Tammy Cruikshank of Camden at their regular meeting Tuesday, October 20.
Cruikshank will work 35 hours a week at $17 an hour. Mayor Ronnie Webb told the board she had been in the office that week and was already getting up to speed.
“She’s been doing a great job this week, and we’ve got more training coming,” Webb said.
The board will also interview a second candidate for a clerk position.
Webb said that candidate already has experience with the Local Government software system the town uses, which he said would speed up the onboarding process.
Cruikshank is Hollow Rock’s fourth recorder since 2023. Her predecessor, RaSha Higdon, was sent home by Mayor Ronnie Webb in September. Vice Mayor Angela Stockdale said Higdon had raised her own rate of pay without board approval.
The matter was listed on the agenda of a September 22 special called meeting but was tabled pending further legal advice, and no formal board vote on Higdon’s employment has been reported.
Auditor Search Stalling
The town’s search for a new auditing firm isn’t going so well. At least four firms declined to take on the work.
Webb said each firm cited the same reasons.
“Because it’s late in the year, they were saying that at this point in time they could not take on the responsibility,” Webb said.
At the September 22 special called meeting, representatives from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office told the board that the town’s previous auditing firm, ATA, had dropped Hollow Rock after the town made no progress providing financial records for fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The comptroller warned that without a current audit, the town’s budget cannot be approved, meaning the town cannot issue debt. The state also has the authority to withhold up to 15 percent of the town’s state shared revenue if the audit backlog is not addressed by December 31.
Nuisance Properties
The board discussed strengthening the town’s nuisance property ordinance, which has not been updated since 1989.
Mayor Webb said the ordinance needs to be rewritten to give the town clearer authority to act and to put property owners on notice.
Town attorney Butch Maddox confirmed that once the town goes in and cleans up a property, it can file a lien against it, which is good for 10 years.
“If you have to go in there and clean it up, that’s when you need to file a lien against the property,” Maddox said. “If they were to sell it to somebody else, that lien’s going to have to be cleared before the new buyer will have clear title.”
One property that came up repeatedly was a former service station where vehicles and debris have accumulated. Webb said the previous mayor had spoken with the owner multiple times without result. Alderman Andy Baker asked whether the property’s history as a service station would complicate matters.
“No,” Maddox said. “It’s just like anybody else.”
Webb said the next step is for the board to identify specific properties, send final letters giving owners 30 days to comply, and then move forward with cleanup and billing if they don’t.
Mowing and Grass Clippings
The board discussed revising the town’s road mowing ordinance to clarify maintenance responsibilities. Webb said former public works employees historically mowed 17 feet from the center of the road, but the current ordinance is vague and needs to be rewritten to reflect that standard clearly.
Officer Morris Rogers asked the board to post a public service announcement on Hollow Rock’s Facebook page reminding residents that blowing grass clippings into the road is illegal.
Fire Department and County
The proposed arrangement between the Hollow Rock Fire Department and Carroll County, which would transfer engines and equipment to the county, remains on hold.
The board said it was last advised to wait until at least January 1 before moving forward, with the upcoming election cited as a reason to pause.
Hollow Rock’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.