Cedartown City Manager Charles Akridge has resigned, effective immediately, following a Friday night incident in Rome, details of which remain unexplained.

In an official statement released to The Cedartown Standard, Akridge expressed regret “for an incident that occurred over the weekend, which caused potential embarrassment to the city, and for which he was truly sorry.”

The Cedartown Standard has been able to confirm only that the Rome Police Department was involved, but that no arrests were made and no incident report had been filed.

Rome Interim Police Chief Lonzo Roberson told the Rome News-Tribune the incident took place inside the downtown nightclub 333 on Broad and the little information he has comes from the off-duty police officer working security outside the venue.

The officer became aware of a commotion during a brief walk-through of the nightclub, Roberson said, but saw nothing to justify an arrest. The officer did not know Akridge's identity at the time, but a patron of the club later mentioned it.

According to information gathered by The Cedartown Standard:

Akridge contacted Cedartown Assistant Police Chief Jamie Newsome on the night of the incident, and was given a ride home to Cedartown by Newsome.

Akridge met with the Cedartown City Commission at 6 p.m. Monday in a closed meeting, called under the heading of “personnel matters.”

Cedartown City Commission Chairman Larry Odom said he regretted that this matter had occurred and he wished Mr. Akridge success in his future endeavors.

Odom commended Akridge for the many positive improvements he had made to the city, especially with its budgetary processes and finances.

Odom said the city will immediately begin the process of advertising the position to find a replacement.

“The search will begin for a new city manager right away,” Odom said. “We have not decided yet on an interim city manager.”

As far as the incident that resulted in the resignation, Odom said he could not comment further.

Akridge, formerly of Moultrie, was hired by the city in April 2009.

Prior to being hired by Cedartown, Akridge served as a project coordinator for the City of Moultrie and as assistant city manager for the cities of Acworth and Fairburn. Subsequently, he worked as the county planning director for Worth County, where he was promoted to county administrator.

In Tuesday’s statement, Akridge stated that he enjoyed his time with Cedartown and felt that the city was moving in the right direction. He further wished “the government, and the good citizens of Cedartown, every possible success in the future.”

He expressed pride in balancing the city budget and helping the city work through very serious financial times facing all citizens and governments, especially with a significant decrease in funding.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.