City Manager Unfiltered

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, fire chiefs, and other public sector e...

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, and other public sector executives...

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, and other public sector executives ...

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 repurpose these decaying vacant or soon t...

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 and his team and he's learned many...

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 and his team and he's learned many...

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 a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.or...

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 guilty until proven innocent.

As someone...

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 between being a department head versus ...

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 destruction of the landscape and physi...

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 has also provided us with a checkli...

In Illinois, Freeport City Manager Rob Boyer recently faced down a citizen's petition to move away from the council-manager form of government and revert back to the strong mayor form.

Reeling from mismanagement and economic decline, Freeport abandoned the strong mayor form of government about a decade ago. Since that time, Rob and his two predecessors have done great work to turn the community around. In this episode, we discuss m...

City managers deserve to have a professional association that will fight for them and help communicate their narrative in an environment where the deck is usually stacked against them. 

In this week's episode I wanted to unpack some various advocacy efforts the American Association of Municipal Executives is currently engaged in on behalf of city managers. Not only are we engaged in direct advocacy on behalf of individuals, but we ...

Last September after mounting pressure, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) finally capitulated and settled the James Freed lawsuit a month before it was scheduled to go to trial. In this episode, we catch up with the Port Huron, Michigan city manager and see what life is like after his huge victory.

Hint: Lots of vacations with the wife. ROTFLMAO!

We also discuss the failures of his state association, the M...

When Jeff Cantrell uprooted his family and relocated for a city manager job in central Kansas, he never dreamed it would all come to an end two short years later. He was leaving Chanute (pop. 10,000), a Southeast Kansas town, for Hutchinson (pop. of 40,000) and replacing a well-respected manager who was retiring after holding the seat for 17 years. 

It seemed like a no-brainer next step in the progression of Jeff's career.

In this ...

City Manager Kevin Phelps and his team in Glendale, Arizona have put on a clinic when it comes to leveraging economic development. Since his arrival in 2016, the city has figuratively backed up the Brinks truck and filled their bank accounts with cash.

Residents pay lower property taxes per unit of valuation today than they did when he took over. And the number of employees in Glendale today is lower than a decade or so ago.

In thi...

Join Gavin Baum-Blake, Co-founder and CEO of City Detect, on City Manager Unfiltered, where he discusses how AI and computer vision technology are revolutionizing urban management.

With a background as a US Army veteran, an attorney, and an entrepreneur, Gavin brings a unique perspective to the ethical application of cutting-edge technology in tackling urban challenges like blight, housing decay, and illegal dumping.

Discover how h...

Yucaipa City Manager Chris Mann invited yours truly, and Calimesa City Manager Will Kolbow, to sit down for an interview on the Yucaipa 360 podcast.

The three of us discussed a variety of issues and subjects related to the city management profession and local government.

This episode is a rebroadcast of that interview for my audience of listeners.

Chris and his team in Yucaipa are really raising the bar  when it comes to local gove...

Three small towns in Connecticut are seeking to share an administrator -- the first time that something like this has ever been attempted according to the organization conducting the recruitment.

Joining me on the podcast to discuss this innovative approach is Alex Torpey from the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

This shared administrator will be tasked with helping the citie...