Greeneville's new City Administrator appeared with the Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen in his official capacity during the board's regular biweekly meeting on Tuesday.

The board selected Todd Smith, 36, of Chuckey, to serve in the newly-created role in early December, and Tuesday was his first official day at work.

"We have entered into a new era for our community, and it's something that I'm very proud we're doing," Mayor W.T. Daniels said, praising the board for their support.

"Mr. Smith -- his credentials speak for themselves, and he's an outstanding young man," Mayor Daniels added before giving Smith the floor.

"It's an amazing opportunity that this board has granted me. I'm really excited about working in Greeneville; it's a great community," Smith said.

"I'm really blessed to be a part of this community and a part of the Town of Greeneville."

Smith said that he spent Tuesday scheduling meetings for the remainder of the week with various department heads, all of whom he praised as "professional" and able to "serve Greeneville well."

In an interview following the meeting, Smith said that he has a 30-day, 60-day and 90-day plan for settling into the community, all of which are topped by the goal to "meet folks."

Smith told The Greeneville Sun that two areas in which he hopes to focus will be economic development and enhancing communication between departments, the board, and citizens.

In considering economic development, Smith said he intends to provide any assistance possible to the Greene County Partnership, while he plans to look toward technology for enhancing communication.

Smith told the board that he has three principles that serve as a basis for all his goals:

* customer service, with Greeneville's citizens as the customers;

* communication; and,

* results.

"It's how I want to approach the Town government," he said, later adding that he believes the Town's decision to change its government will bode well for all involved.

The Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously in early September to create the new position of City Administrator, the first official step toward changing the town government's structure.

The resolution adopted by the board called for the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS), represented by Pat Hardy, to prepare a separate resolution amending the Greeneville Town Charter to reflect the new position.

Such a resolution to amend the charter requires approval by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, then by the Tennessee General Assembly, and again by the town board before it becomes official.

The resolution has not yet been acted on by the Tennessee General Assembly, which was not in session at the time of the board's action in September but reconvenes this month for its 2012 session.

If the resolution is approved by the legislature, as expected, it will return to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for final approval.

The resolution approved Sept. 6 also stated that a search should be made as soon as possible to find the town's first City Administrator.

Hardy, MTAS management consultant, explained that a new City Administrator can be hired on an interim basis pending the required approvals by the state legislature and then, finally, by the board itself the second time.

Hardy has worked closely with the board over the past year to study possible changes in the town government's structure.

The board adjourned after hearing from Smith before reconvening as the Greeneville Beer Board.

The beer board approved the following license requests at Police Chief Terry Cannon's recommendation:

* a license for on-premise consumption at Cancun Family Mexican Restaurant, Jose Munoz, at 915 E. Andrew Johnson Hwy.; and

* a license for on- and off-premise consumption at La Perla Mexican Restaurant & Grocery, Jaime Gonzalez, 821 E. Andrew Johnson Hwy.