Kingsport Spirit

Kingsport’s municipal election is underway, with early voting through August 1 and Election Day on August 6. This is a good time to remember why we are called the Model City.

The name is often associated with Kingsport’s physical plan—Church Circle, an orderly street system, and a balanced layout for businesses, neighborhoods, parks, and schools. That is part of the story, but Kingsport was also designed as a model of local government.

The year 1917 matters. The original Kingsport, incorporated in 1822, faded after the Civil War and eventually lost its charter. As railroads displaced river ports, old Kingsport no longer served the same commercial purpose. When investors created a new Kingsport, many large American cities were known for political machines, patronage, graft, and corruption. In those systems, voters and neighborhoods could be rewarded for supporting those in power—or punished when they did not.

Reformers believed another form of government was needed: one that separated election politics from daily administration, replaced patronage with professional management, and made the governing board accountable to the whole community. Public services were to be provided by policy, not popularity.

Kingsport’s founders followed the principles of the National Civic League’s 1915 Model City Charter: council-manager government, nonpartisan elections, and at-large representation. Kingsport became the first city in Tennessee—and one of the earliest adopters nationwide—to use this form.

The idea is straightforward. Voters elect the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to set policy, approve the budget, and establish the city’s direction. The board hires a professional city manager to administer those policies and oversee daily operations.

Think of the mayor as chairman of the board and the city manager as CEO. The mayor leads the board and represents the city, but does not run departments. The city manager is the board’s only direct employee and is responsible for hiring and supervising the professionals who lead every department, from police and fire to parks, water, sewer, and public works.

When all funds are considered, the City of Kingsport is a $344 million public enterprise—well over a third of a billion dollars. That requires serious oversight, professional management, and elected officials who understand their proper role.

All seven BMA members are elected at-large on a nonpartisan ballot. None represents only a ward, district, or neighborhood. Each is charged with considering the good of the whole city.

That differs from county government, where commissioners are elected by district with a primary responsibility to their local constituents, although they also represent the county as a whole. Voters separately elect constitutional officers such as the mayor, sheriff, trustee, county clerk, register of deeds, and property assessor. Those officials have their own legal authority and do not report to the county mayor.

It also differs from Tennessee’s four largest cities—Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. Their elections are nonpartisan, but their mayor-centered systems are naturally more politicized because the elected mayor exercises executive authority over city government.

Kingsport’s system creates greater separation between politics and administration. Elections can change policy, as they should, without automatically replacing staff, losing institutional knowledge, or disrupting long-term projects. That helps produce stable, predictable government.

What was innovative here in 1917 is now widely used. Many Tennessee communities rely on a professional manager or administrator. Their charters vary, but the principle is similar: elected officials set policy and professionals manage operations.

Kingsport’s elected offices were intended as citizen service, not a salary or benefits package. The mayor receives $3,000 annually, and each alderman receives $2,400. Those amounts have remained unchanged for about four decades—not even adjusted for inflation. They are not paid by the meeting, reimbursed for driving to City Hall, or provided with health insurance or retirement benefits.

By comparison, Tennessee county mayors are full-time constitutional officers. Many earn six-figure salaries and are eligible for health and retirement benefits. Minimum salaries for county mayors and many constitutional officers are set by state law according to population class and adjusted annually. Counties may pay more, but not less. Those salaries are not based on a local market study, local cost-of-living analysis, or the financial condition of one particular county. They are established through a statewide formula.

That is not a criticism. The offices are fundamentally different. A county mayor is a full-time executive. Kingsport’s mayor and aldermen are citizen policymakers.

Citizens should question decisions, challenge policies, and demand accountability. But the next time you criticize a city elected official—or suggest that person is somehow benefiting financially—think again. Kingsport’s officials serve because they care about their city and want to see their hometown succeed.

The Model City was never intended to mean a perfect city. It meant a city organized around planning, professionalism, continuity, and service to the whole community.

That is the system Kingsport voters are being asked to safeguard and strengthen.