NASHVILLE-A bill to increase the number of City of Celina aldermen from three to five is moving forward here in the 114th Tennessee General Assembly.

Local aldermen approved the measure in June of 2024, when alderman Kenny Westmoreland made a motion to change the number of aldermen to five, alderman Brittany Kerr seconded the motion, and it passed by a 2-1 vote, with alderman Justin Rich voting no.

Senate Bill 46 (SB 0046), which “amends Chapter 90 of the Private Acts of 1991” to reflect the increase, was sponsored by Senator Ken Yager.

It passed the Senate unanimously last week and is “engrossed” and “ready for transmission to (the) House,” according to www.capitol.tn.gov.

House Bill 50, which has the same purpose as SB 0046, is sponsored by State Representative Kelly Keisling.

The last update on it as of HORIZON press time came on January 15, with notes on the Tennessee General Assembly’s website reading “P2C held on desk, pending appointment of Standing Committees.”

House Bill 50 will need to pass the House and the enrolled copy must be signed by Governor Bill Lee before it becomes law.

The change was proposed locally in April of 2024, when Westmoreland suggested the number of aldermen be increased to five.

It came up when aldermen were trying to decide who to appoint to fill the alderman seat vacated by the death of Winton Dillon, which was eventually filled by his daughter Brittany Kerr.

Kerr was appointed by City of Celina Mayor Luke Collins, who broke a tie between Westmoreland and Rich under the legal statue of section 2.05 of the city charter, after the deadlock remained in place for 15 days.

See a future HORIZON for updates on the State legislation and more about the potential aldermen increase.