Last week, Hopkinsville City Council Members voted to absorb some of the services offered by Community and Development Services, and leaders of the agency shared their opinions and the possible impacts concerning the council’s vote.
CDS, also known as the Hopkinsville Christian County Planning Commission, offers mapping and zoning services, as well as residential development programs. Along with the City of Hopkinsville, CDS works with The City of Oak Grove, The City of Pembroke and Christian County Government.
At the July 21 regular-called meeting and the July 23 special-called meeting council members voted to amendment the 2026-27 operational budget allowing the city to acquire some CDS programs, services and positions. The Legacy Hopkinsville Program, The Inner-City Residential Enterprise Program, The Hopkinsville Land Bank Authority and building code services are set to be absorbed by the city.
The amendment also includes the creation of six positions that are migrating from CDS. At the meetings, Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight said CDS employees who currently hold those positions are invited to reapply.
CDS Executive Director Tom Britton says the service transition heavily impacts CDS, and he is concerned about how it was handled. He says neither he nor his staff were aware that council members were going to vote for the absorption last week.
Knight said the transition is occurring because the city and CDS have been struggling for over a year to develop a contract. Britton says the original contract between the city and CDS was suspended by Knight during his first year in office.
Since the suspension, Britton says CDS has still been performing services faithfully for the city. On June 22, the CDS Board of Commissioners approved contracts and sent them to Knight. He expressed some concerns and Britton says they made some revisions that Knight knew of before city council members voted to absorb services.
On July 20, Britton says he spoke with Knight and thought CDS, and the city had reached an agreement. Considering how the transition has occurred, Britton says he is concerned that the current talent at CDS will look elsewhere for employment instead of reapplying as a city employee.
CDS Assistant Director and Downtown Renaissance Director Holly Boggess says she was extremely shocked by the vote. Boggess says they are not exactly sure how many CDS positions will be impacted but believes the city might consolidate multiple roles.
Boggess also shared that some of her duties might be impacted by the city absorption. She says city and CDS leaders still need to have conversations about the full extent of the acquirement.