MURFREESBORO, TN (WGNS) - The City of Murfreesboro is promoting one of its own. Tracy Brown, who has served as assistant director of the Street Department since 2022, will take over as director beginning April 6, 2026. It’s a move city leaders say reflects both her deep experience and her steady hand in day‑to‑day operations.

Public Works Executive Director Raymond Hillis said Brown has earned the role through years of consistent performance. “Tracy has demonstrated consistent leadership, sound judgment, and a strong commitment to the mission and daily operations of the Street Department,” Hillis said. He added that her institutional knowledge and familiarity with staff make her “well positioned to lead the department.”

Brown’s path through city government spans nearly three decades. A Murfreesboro native and Riverdale High graduate, she first joined the City on Sept. 22, 1997, as a secretary in the Police Department. She later moved to the Personnel Department before transitioning to the Street Department, where she steadily advanced from Department Coordinator to Administrative Assistant II to Budget Analyst. In May 2022, she was promoted to assistant director.

Along the way, she studied Business Management at MTSU and built a reputation for understanding both the operational and administrative sides of public works.

The Street Department plays a major role in keeping Murfreesboro moving — repairing and maintaining streets, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, and storm drainage systems. The team also handles mowing along right‑of‑ways, oversees the city’s annual leaf collection program, and leads winter storm response, including brine application and snow and ice removal. Urban Forestry, including the City Arborist, also falls under the department’s umbrella.

Brown will now oversee these operations as part of the broader Public Works Division, which includes Solid Waste, Fleet Services, Facility Maintenance, and Vertical Construction. Hillis, who has led Public Works since 2020, previously served as Street Department director and has worked for the City since 1994.

City leaders say the department’s structure — reorganized in 2020 to improve communication and efficiency — will support Brown as she steps into her new role. And for a department that touches nearly every resident in some way, her long history with the city brings a sense of continuity as she takes the helm.