Property assessor resigns as floodplain administrator

Chris Ward is new fire chief for Stoney Fork

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- Campbell County Property Assessor Brandon Partin addressed County Commissioners at the workshop on Monday evening regarding the Floodplain Administrator position that his office also held. Partin said that he had received legal advice that he had to relinquish the position as it conflicted with his elected position as property assessor.

“At some point in the past, the task or duties of floodplain administrator was placed on my office, prior to my administration; it has come to light in the last few months that that is a duty that under the advisory of CTAS and Professional Property Assessment, I must relinquish from my office. It conflicts with the duties of the office that I was elected to do,” Partin said, adding that his resignation was on the guidance of “Mr. Gabe Loony at CTAS and the attorneys he had consulted with, it is a position that the office of property assessor cannot do.”

Partin said his addressing the commission at the workshop was the “proper procedure” to resign from the floodplain administrator position.

“I have an email from Mr. Loony stating that he bases it off of the constitutional requirements of the office that I was sworn in to do and also an attorney general opinion,” Partin said, adding that Loony’s recommendation was that the duty of floodplain administrator should actually fall under someone under the county mayor’s office.

“He said in some county’s it falls under planning commission, community development or an engineering department, a building and neighborhood service department,” Partin said

Commissioner Rusty Orick said, “A floodplain administrator was a needed thing” and that the county had been needing engineers for a long time as well.

Partin said that Campbell County was one of four counties in the state left that have the floodplain administrator in the property assessor’s office and that they are trying to get that changed.

Orick said he would carry the resignation at next week’s meeting.

In other business, Commission Chairman Johnny Bruce announced that Chris Ward is new fire chief for Stoney Fork and that the fire department was asking for funds to be released after the commission had frozen them at last month’s meeting until the department had a new fire chief in place. Commissioners will vote on this at next week’s meeting. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-12/09/2025-6AM)