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City manager finalists to fly in for interviews
by Courtney Bacalso
Midland Reporter-Telegram
By Courtney Bacalso
Staff Writer
Interviews for the Midland city manager position will begin Monday.
The City Council will be meeting the five finalists for the first time within the next two days.
Mayor Wes Perry said he looks forward to meeting the five men -- four of whom are from Texas and one from Utah.
"You really don't get to know how well they will fit until you meet them," Perry said. "The interviews will give us a better perspective of our candidates."
Former Commerce City Manager Bill Shipp Jr., Port Arthur City Manager Steve Fitzgibbons and Kilgore City Manager Jeffrey Howell will be interviewed Monday. Mount Pleasant City Manager Courtney B. Sharp and David A. Hales, the director of finance and administrative services for Herriman, Utah, will be interviewed Tuesday.
All candidates have previous city manager experience.
The Mercer Group, the recruiting firm the city hired to conduct the search, received a total of 63 applications based on the criteria gathered from the focus group meetings with city staff and citizens. Earlier this month the City Council pared down the list to the five finalists.
The council is looking for a city manager to fill the vacancy caused when Rick Menchaca resigned more than a year ago. While former Assistant City Manager Tommy Hudson stepped in as interim city manager, he did not seek the position.
Perry said the salary for the city manager position is approximately $150,000.
Assuming the council finds a qualified candidate to take the position, negotiations would begin.
They hope to have a city manager in place by Sept. 1.
Meet the candidates
-- Steve Fitzgibbons currently serves as the city manager for Port Arthur, population 57,500. Like Midland, Port Arthur currently is undergoing an economic boom, including the $7 billion expansion by Motiva and $2.2 billion by Valero and TOTAL.
With the deals in place, the city is undergoing rapid growth in retail and commercial development as well as housing, his resume stated.
"I think it's an excellent opportunity," he said in an interview this week. "It's a very nice city with a lot of similar things going toward it. I know that I would enjoy it there."
Fitzgibbons has worked in city or county government for more than 30 years, including being the city manger for the city of Ingleside, located on the Corpus Christi Bay, and the border town of Brownsville.
He received his bachelor's in economics from William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.; and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Missouri in Kansas City, Mo.
-- While David Hales may be the sole candidate not from Texas, he said he sees it as an advantage to getting the job.
"In my career, I have purposely looked for opportunities to work in different parts of the county," said Hales, who currently heads the department of finance and administrative services for the City of West Jordan, Utah. "I think its advantageous to bring on new blood, bring in a fresh set of eyes."
He also said he has broad experience which includes being the city manager for the cities of Bend, Ore.; Kannapolis, N.C.; and Centerville, Utah.
"This particular job entices me because it's such an exciting time for Midland," he said. "There's so much growth going on with the energy boom and great opportunities of growth."
Hales said most of his city manager positions were in cities dealing with high growth where he had "to deal with it in a positive and aggressive manner."
Hales graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in political science; and from Bringham Young University with a master's in public administration.
-- Jeffrey Howell said Midland would be an easy transition because of its similarities to Kilgore where he currently serves as city manager.
"They are both oil driven economies," he said. "Kilgore, just like Midland, is in the process of diversifying our economy in order to be not so dependent in the oil industry."
He manages 165 full-time and 25 seasonal employees and a $20 million operating budget, his resume states.
During Howell's 23 years in municipal government, he also served as the city administrator for the City of Bridgeport and worked more than 10 years in different positions for the City of Fort Worth.
During Howell's 23 years in municipal government, he also served as the city administrator for the City of Bridgeport and worked more than 10 years in different positions for the City of Fort Worth.
He has bachelor's degrees in civil engineering from Texas Tech University; business administration from Frank Phillips College; and in general business from West Texas University. He also carries a master's degree in public and institutional management from the University of Texas at Arlington.
-- Courtney B. Sharp said he applied for the position because he longed to return to West Texas.
"This is a great opportunity to get my family back to West Texas," said the Amarillo native, who has three daughters ages 16, 12 and 10.
Sharp currently works as the city manager for Mount Pleasant, in Northeast Texas. Its economy is comprised of agriculture, industry, tourism, and wholesale and retail trade.
Prior to that, he also worked as assistant city manager for the city of Canyon for nine years.
Sharp has a bachelor's degree in political science from West Texas A&M University and is a certified public manager's program graduate from Texas Tech University.
-- Bill Shipp Jr. said he would make the ideal candidate because he has diverse experience.
Shipp has 12 years in municipal government, including the five years he served as the city manager for Commerce. He also worked with military communications and computers systems for 17 years.
"I was an assistant analyst in the computer field in the defense area," he said. "I think having the analyst position helps me bring a breadth of experience."
With Midland growing as opposed to other cities that are suffering, he decided it would be a great to serve as city manager in its current environment.
Shipp's 10 years in municipal government include working in Mesquite as a special project assistant and assistant city manager in the town of Addison.
He holds bachelor's degrees in mathematics and English from Texas A&M; a master's degree in management from Webster College; and a master's in public administration from the University of North Texas.
Resumes of the finalists can bee seen by logging onto www.midlandtexas.gov.
Staff Writer
Interviews for the Midland city manager position will begin Monday.
The City Council will be meeting the five finalists for the first time within the next two days.
Mayor Wes Perry said he looks forward to meeting the five men -- four of whom are from Texas and one from Utah.
"You really don't get to know how well they will fit until you meet them," Perry said. "The interviews will give us a better perspective of our candidates."
Former Commerce City Manager Bill Shipp Jr., Port Arthur City Manager Steve Fitzgibbons and Kilgore City Manager Jeffrey Howell will be interviewed Monday. Mount Pleasant City Manager Courtney B. Sharp and David A. Hales, the director of finance and administrative services for Herriman, Utah, will be interviewed Tuesday.
All candidates have previous city manager experience.
The Mercer Group, the recruiting firm the city hired to conduct the search, received a total of 63 applications based on the criteria gathered from the focus group meetings with city staff and citizens. Earlier this month the City Council pared down the list to the five finalists.
The council is looking for a city manager to fill the vacancy caused when Rick Menchaca resigned more than a year ago. While former Assistant City Manager Tommy Hudson stepped in as interim city manager, he did not seek the position.
Perry said the salary for the city manager position is approximately $150,000.
Assuming the council finds a qualified candidate to take the position, negotiations would begin.
They hope to have a city manager in place by Sept. 1.
Meet the candidates
-- Steve Fitzgibbons currently serves as the city manager for Port Arthur, population 57,500. Like Midland, Port Arthur currently is undergoing an economic boom, including the $7 billion expansion by Motiva and $2.2 billion by Valero and TOTAL.
With the deals in place, the city is undergoing rapid growth in retail and commercial development as well as housing, his resume stated.
"I think it's an excellent opportunity," he said in an interview this week. "It's a very nice city with a lot of similar things going toward it. I know that I would enjoy it there."
Fitzgibbons has worked in city or county government for more than 30 years, including being the city manger for the city of Ingleside, located on the Corpus Christi Bay, and the border town of Brownsville.
He received his bachelor's in economics from William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.; and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Missouri in Kansas City, Mo.
-- While David Hales may be the sole candidate not from Texas, he said he sees it as an advantage to getting the job.
"In my career, I have purposely looked for opportunities to work in different parts of the county," said Hales, who currently heads the department of finance and administrative services for the City of West Jordan, Utah. "I think its advantageous to bring on new blood, bring in a fresh set of eyes."
He also said he has broad experience which includes being the city manager for the cities of Bend, Ore.; Kannapolis, N.C.; and Centerville, Utah.
"This particular job entices me because it's such an exciting time for Midland," he said. "There's so much growth going on with the energy boom and great opportunities of growth."
Hales said most of his city manager positions were in cities dealing with high growth where he had "to deal with it in a positive and aggressive manner."
Hales graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in political science; and from Bringham Young University with a master's in public administration.
-- Jeffrey Howell said Midland would be an easy transition because of its similarities to Kilgore where he currently serves as city manager.
"They are both oil driven economies," he said. "Kilgore, just like Midland, is in the process of diversifying our economy in order to be not so dependent in the oil industry."
He manages 165 full-time and 25 seasonal employees and a $20 million operating budget, his resume states.
During Howell's 23 years in municipal government, he also served as the city administrator for the City of Bridgeport and worked more than 10 years in different positions for the City of Fort Worth.
During Howell's 23 years in municipal government, he also served as the city administrator for the City of Bridgeport and worked more than 10 years in different positions for the City of Fort Worth.
He has bachelor's degrees in civil engineering from Texas Tech University; business administration from Frank Phillips College; and in general business from West Texas University. He also carries a master's degree in public and institutional management from the University of Texas at Arlington.
-- Courtney B. Sharp said he applied for the position because he longed to return to West Texas.
"This is a great opportunity to get my family back to West Texas," said the Amarillo native, who has three daughters ages 16, 12 and 10.
Sharp currently works as the city manager for Mount Pleasant, in Northeast Texas. Its economy is comprised of agriculture, industry, tourism, and wholesale and retail trade.
Prior to that, he also worked as assistant city manager for the city of Canyon for nine years.
Sharp has a bachelor's degree in political science from West Texas A&M University and is a certified public manager's program graduate from Texas Tech University.
-- Bill Shipp Jr. said he would make the ideal candidate because he has diverse experience.
Shipp has 12 years in municipal government, including the five years he served as the city manager for Commerce. He also worked with military communications and computers systems for 17 years.
"I was an assistant analyst in the computer field in the defense area," he said. "I think having the analyst position helps me bring a breadth of experience."
With Midland growing as opposed to other cities that are suffering, he decided it would be a great to serve as city manager in its current environment.
Shipp's 10 years in municipal government include working in Mesquite as a special project assistant and assistant city manager in the town of Addison.
He holds bachelor's degrees in mathematics and English from Texas A&M; a master's degree in management from Webster College; and a master's in public administration from the University of North Texas.
Resumes of the finalists can bee seen by logging onto www.midlandtexas.gov.
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Dean wrote on Jul 20, 2008 12:15 PM: