For the first time in 16 years, the city of Greeley is looking for a new city manager.
Greeley City Council was recently interviewed by Baker Tilly of Dallas, Texas to find out what council members expect from the next city manager.
Mayor John Gates said the city council hoped to appoint a new city manager before the November 2nd elections due to potential fluctuation.
At least two city council members, Michael Fitzsimmons and Kristin Zasada, will be replaced as they will not run for re-election this year. Councilor Brett Payton is running for the full seat, leaving a void in Ward 2 and facing two challengers for the new seat.
Gates is standing for re-election against John Gauthiere of Save Greeley’s Water and local business owner Jim Ethridge.
“From my point of view, we can’t rush the search,” said Gates. “This is a target date to have a new city manager before the November election, but we also want to be realistic.”
Gates said Baker Tilly is using the council’s input to create a job description that the city council will review earlier this week. From there, the national search begins in earnest. The company will review applications for an unspecified number. The council then reviews the remaining applicants and wishes to host public forums to receive input from outside the council.
In this 2014 photo, Greeley City Manager Roy Otto laughs as he serves turkey during an intercultural feast at Greeley Recreation Center.
Replacing a longtime city manager
Anyone seeking to fill the position has a hard deed to do. Former City Manager Roy Otto’s 16 years is the second longest tenure in this position, at least since Ben Cruce, who ran the city for 18 years and ended his tenure in 1972. Average time is growing, according to a 2003 paper published by by the International City / County Management Association. The average tenure was about three and a half years in the 1960s and rose to nearly seven years in 2000.
From his first week at work, Otto hoped for a long term in office, with the aim of changing the “unfair” image of the city as a stinking cow town from the point of view of other communities across the country and also raising his children here to a report by the Greeley Tribune from the Year 2005.
A week after leaving the job after retiring on Aug. 18, Otto said his greatest challenge was developing a sense of “modest confidence” in the city when he started the job.
“Greeley always made a lot of jokes, and I think that created uncertainty,” said Otto. “We definitely shouldn’t be arrogant. … But we shouldn’t be too insecure either when we joke about being a “smelly little cow town”, not very nifty things along those lines. I never believed that was true about Greeley, and I think we have done a lot over the past 16 years to reverse those perceptions. “
The Greeley Unexpected campaign and the turnaround in the school district, particularly with the help of Superintendent Deirdre Pilch, were important factors in this change in reputation, Otto said. Pilch said Otto’s commitment to education and young people in the community made him a great partner for the school district. According to a press release from the city, one of Otto’s achievements is the implementation of the “Achieving Community Excellence” program, an initiative to develop managers and employees.
“He was creative and resourceful about what we could do instead of focusing on what was wrong and what we couldn’t do,” she said. “He’s always focused on the opportunities here in Greeley – and he did this job really much earlier than I got here.”
Gates said Otto was one of the city’s greatest cheerleaders who excelled at running the city.
“I have never had a doubt about Roy’s loyalty to our community,” he said, adding that he had never cared about Otto’s ethics and morals.
City managers are like leaders who run private companies, according to the International City / County Management Association. As impartial and non-political appointees, city managers should offer consistent leadership, vision and focus at the highest levels of city administration. The Colorado City and County Management Association named Otto City Manager of the Year in 2011.
Otto’s interest in the job of a city manager began while studying civics in Arvada. This early interest came to mind while working with the school district’s career paths as part of the Achieving Community Excellence program.
“It meant a lot to me that you took some of the interest inventories of children in eighth grade to determine, ‘What are important things you might want to do for a future career?’ We got together and did the G. Town Promise, and then suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks, “said Otto. Hopefully this program will help some of the other students in District 6 get a feel for what they want to do in the future and what educational qualifications they will need to continue to pursue to achieve those goals.
Otto hopes some middle school students will develop a passion for trustworthy local government services, “the backbone of a successful democracy,” he said.
What can the next city manager expect?
City officials largely agree that the next city manager’s focus must be on managing the city’s growth. Otto said this includes a wide range of issues like building infrastructure, allowing city residents to vote on the services they want, and managing the tax structure while officials work to fund all of that growth .
Knowing how to deal with water issues is another key to effective management, Otto said, reiterating his staunch opposition to changes to the city charter in the vote this year, which set the bar high for the city in selling, leasing, and acquiring various Would put water resources.
Raymond C. Lee III
Since Otto’s last day, Raymond Lee III. Appointed Deputy City Manager after becoming Deputy City Manager in December. As the city’s assistant manager, Lee mostly oversaw outward-looking departments including community development, economic health and housing, public works, water and sewage, and culture, parks and recreation.
Lee said that he sees the city’s growth as one of the most important issues to maintain and improve customer service, transparency, quality of life and general services in the city.
Councilor Tommy Butler also stressed the importance of well-managed growth from the next city manager, especially with regard to strategic long-term planning. To do that, it takes outreach to involve the existing community, he added.
For Butler, the number one theme in managing this growth is creating affordable housing. Expensive single-family homes in the west of the city won’t get the city where it needs to be when it grows by more than 100,000 people in the next 40 years, he said.
Alderman Ed Clark, a former mayor, also spoke about “growth” before any other topic.
“I want us to grow,” said Clark. “But I also want to keep Greeley so I can go to Walmart and still know most of the people. Or go somewhere in Greeley and feel like I’m still connected. “
Dealing with the growing infrastructure will be one of the biggest challenges in managing that growth well, said Clark, reiterating Otto’s comments.
Gates added that trying to achieve diversified growth will help the city grow sustainably.
Lee plans to toss his hat in the ring for the position once the position is advertised. Gates said he believed Lee would make a “high quality candidate.”
“When we started discussing who our deputy city manager would be, the city council unanimously decided it should be Raymond Lee,” said Gates. “I was impressed with his leadership and we all want to do everything we can to make him a success.
“Whether he is our next City Manager or not, he is a valuable member of our team.”
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