City Manager Unfiltered

Perry City Manager Nathan Read wanted to make it easier for residents to decipher the legalese of city ordinances and codes. So with the help of his best friend and business partner, they built CityOrdinanceAI and are now offering it up as a product for other city managers and local governments to purchase. In this episode, we talk about his journey from Utah to Oklahoma to accept his first gig as...

On Friday, Baker Tilly Executive Recruitment announced they were going out of business. It was the culmination of two years worth of work highlighting their poor treatment of candidates and mediocre work product. It all started in July 2023 when I published my first podcast episode about the Canfield, Ohio search. Just a few months earlier, Baker Tilly had purchased Management Partners out of Ohio...

Some shocking details concerning La Marque Councilman Joseph Lowry surfaced this week. Hayley Winkelmann is leading the effort to recall the controversial official and she shared some court records with the podcast. On July 24th, Lowry's ex-wife obtained a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order in the State of Washington. The court found her claims credible and they are horrific. Additionally, Winkelma...

Authorities arrested the former city manager for La Marque, Texas on Saturday. A warrant for the arrest of J.B. Pritchett had been issued about a week prior on charges related to felony arson and tampering with evidence and misdemeanor charges related to allegedly lying about his education and military service on his job applications and resume. In this episode, i45Now reporter T.J. Aulds discusse...

This week a warrant was issued for the arrest of former La Marque city manager, J.B. Pritchett. He is facing five charges, of which two are felonies. How in the hell did we get here? To an outsider, the small Texas town of La Marque seems like a chaotic, toxic mess. Many people point their fingers at a councilman by the name of Joseph Lowry who has a brash, combative, and in your face style that r...

In this episode, I share a personal update about my legal matters and mental health. I also tease the release of my new book called: The City Manager's Guide to Contract Negotiations. AAME JOB BOARD: The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/ AAME...

Former Sacramento Councilman Jeff Harris returns to the show to discuss the challenges facing the next city manager. Harris served on the council from 2014-2022 and writes regular columns about the machinations of City Hall. In Part 1, he defended the record of former city manager, Howard Chan. This week, we take a deep dive into the organization itself to give prospective candidates and curious o...

Got a unique episode this week. Former Sacramento Councilman Jeff Harris comes on the show to defend his former city manager, Howard Chan. Harris served on the council from 2014-2022 and was on the council when Chan was selected to lead their community. He knows the ins-and-outs of Sacramento politics and the truth behind the motives and machinations of the key players. Most importantly, he knows...

We continue our conversation with the always entertaining Tim Rundel in this second installment. Tim has not just seen a thing or two, he has personally endured some incredibly challenging and professionally traumatic situations. In this powerful episode, he talks about how we as city managers carry the trauma of abuse and betrayal to our next position and that it is quite easy to become "gun shy"...

One new council member can turn everything on its head and send you heading for the exits when you are a city manager. Tim Rundel, the former city manager for the City of Weed, recounts his experience with this elected official who also happened to be married to one of his employees.  We talk about the importance of building relationships with your governing body, how elected officials need to pol...

Brian Daily was the first person I ever hired as a city manager and it was one of the most impactful decisions I have ever made in my professional career. He is an amazing, inquisitive public servant who continually seeks to provide value to taxpayers. He is insanely curious and truly embodies the ethos of a "working executive" who is not afraid to roll his sleeves up and do the heavy lifting requ...

Picture this scenario. Staff have worked for a year to bring a project or initiative to the finish line. There have been public meetings and notices, multiple discussions at council meetings, and even some news articles published in the local paper.  Out of the blue, a handful of vocal social media commenters start lighting up the city's social media page and local news groups are atwitter as thes...

What is the purpose of social media and why does your organization have a social media presence? In this episode, Sam Toles of CiviSocial and I discuss this issue at length and make a powerful case for why every city and county manager should make sure their organization is doing social media correctly. Not only are there personal and professional benefits, but it can help improve employee morale...

Recent comments attributed to executive recruiters handling the Sacramento, California and Palm Coast, Florida recruitments must be addressed. A Sacramento Bee article alleged that CPS HR recruiter Pamela Derby has "suggested modifying certain incentives in a potential contract, including supplemental leave and severance, to ensure the new hire does not make as much." In Florida, Strategic Governm...

This is the third and final installment of my three part interview series with Fire/EMS consultant Tim Nowak. The primary purpose of this series is to create an introductory primer and give local elected officials and taxpayers a 30,000 foot level overview of the major issues that must be considered when evaluating fire/EMS service in your communities. My hope is that city and county managers, fir...

This is the second installment of my three part interview series with Fire/EMS consultant Tim Nowak. The primary purpose of this series is to create an introductory primer and give local elected officials and taxpayers a 30,000 foot level overview of the major issues that must be considered when evaluating fire/EMS service in your communities. My hope is that city and county managers, fire chiefs,...

This is the first installment of my three part interview series with Fire/EMS consultant Tim Nowak. The primary purpose of this series is to create an introductory primer and give local elected officials and taxpayers a 30,000 foot level overview of the major issues that must be considered when evaluating fire/EMS service in your communities. My hope is that city and county managers, fire chiefs,...

Richard "Rick" Reinhard is one of the leading experts when it comes to analyzing and repurposing church real estate in America.  In this episode, Rick talks about the great emptying of churches and how this negatively impacts communities. In one of the undergraduate courses he teaches, he has referred to this epidemic as "spiritual brownfields." We talk about what can be done to convert and repurp...

In this two part series, I interview Mike Grabianowski who has many years of experience monitoring and auditing construction projects. As an employee of Georgia Pacific, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, Mike was tasked with ensuring his company was not overbilled whenever it hired contractors to complete projects. These projects, which could exceed $100 million, were put under a microscope by Mike...

In this two part series, I interview Mike Grabianowski who has many years of experience monitoring and auditing construction projects. As an employee of Georgia Pacific, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, Mike was tasked with ensuring his company was not overbilled whenever it hired contractors to complete projects. These projects, which could exceed $100 million, were put under a microscope by Mike...

In the previous episode, I discussed the circumstances surrounding my arrest related to the performance of my duties as an assistant county administrator in Florida In this episode, I discuss my night in a Walton County jail. AAME JOB BOARD: The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post...

Two weeks ago, I drove across the country to turn myself in on an arrest warrant out of Walton County, Florida. I am facing two third degree felony charges related to carrying out my duties as the assistant county administrator. Though I am innocent until proven guilty and I am confident that I will prevail in court -- I also recognize that in the court of public opinion one is often seen as guilt...

After a lengthy and successful career in law enforcement where he served as the police chief for the fastest growing community in Kansas, Matt Jensby had a desire to become a city manager and serve the public in a different way. In this episode, Matt talks about this transition and becoming the city manager for Kechi, a small community north of Wichita. He explains the significant differences betw...

Caldwell County Manager Donald Duncan and his team were about as prepared as one could be for a natural disaster the size and scope of Hurricane Helene. But even still -- there were lessons to be learned and shared in the aftermath of this storm. In Part 2 of this series, Donald talks about the personal toll this disaster had on him and his staff. We talked about survivors' guilt and how total des...

Caldwell County Manager Donald Duncan and his team were about as prepared as one could be for a natural disaster the size and scope of Hurricane Helene. But even still -- there were lessons to be learned and shared in the aftermath of this storm. In this riveting  interview series, Donald gives us a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to disaster response and preparedness. He...