After a year as acting city administrator, David Travis has been appointed to the full-time position for the City of Dickson.
Dickson Mayor Don L. Weiss Jr. nominated Mr. Travis for the position and he was unanimously approved at the July 7, 2025, City Council meeting.
Mr. Travis has served as acting city administrator since July 2, 2024, following the retirement of Rydell Wesson.
“I think he’s done a really, really good, a great job in that position over the course of this year. I think he proved that during budget time, especially,” Mayor Weiss said. “So, tonight, I would like to remove the interim tag from Mr. Travis and appoint him as the full-time city administrator of the City of Dickson.”
Without discussion, the City Council unanimously approved the Mayor’s recommendation.
Mr. Travis has been with the City of Dickson since April 1995 when he started as a part-time employee in the Parks and Recreation Department. He joined full-time in June of that year and rose to the position of crew leader.
After the city consolidated parks, cemetery, maintenance, street, sanitation and other divisions into the Public Works Department in 2012 with Jeff Lewis as director, Mr. Travis was named supervisor of Buildings and Grounds in 2014 and became superintendent in 2015. When Mr. Lewis returned to the Dickson Police Department to become chief in 2017, Mr. Travis was named director of Public Works.
The son of Rita Travis and the late Jimmy “Dude” Travis, Mr. Travis is a Dickson native and a 1994 graduate of Dickson County High School. He has one son, Hunter, and two grandsons, Lincoln and Austin.
With the City of Dickson’s Charter providing for a part-time mayor, the city administrator is responsible for conducting the daily business of the city, advising and informing the mayor and city council of the needs of the city, making recommendations on improvements for the citizens and preparing and overseeing the city’s annual budget. Mr. Travis prepared and presented a $34 million budget for fiscal year 2025/2026 that was unanimously approved by the council June 16.
The City of Dickson currently has 215 full-time employees. In addition to the City Administrator, the Mayor’s administrative staff includes Treasurer Tammy Dotson, Tax Collector Angie Brown, Public Works Director/Engineer Bret Stock, Planning and Zoning Director Jason Pilkinton, Recorder Chris Norman, Court Clerk Gina Swaner, Emergency Communications Director Rosalind Sowell, Police Chief Seth Lyles, Fire Chief Richard Greer and Senior Activity Center Director Joan Rial, who collectively account for 234 years of service to the city.
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