City Manager

Location:  City of Galveston, TX Download:  City of Galveston, TX - City Manager Brochure

City of Galveston, TX
City Manager  

The City of Galveston is located on the upper Texas Coast of the Gulf of Mexico and occupies virtually all of a 32 mile long island located approximately two miles off the Texas mainland 50 miles southeast of Houston, Texas. 

Economy:
The primary legs of Galveston's economic base include the Port of Galveston and maritime businesses, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and tourism. In addition to these forces, Galveston also boasts strong governmental, educational, financial and commercial sectors throughout the community.

Education:
Galveston Independent School District covers 94.82 square miles, including all of Galveston Island and a portion of the Bolivar Peninsula. The district serves approximately 6,400 students on the Island and Bolivar Peninsula.

Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston College, and the University of Texas Medical Branch are all located in Galveston.  The University of Houston, Clear Lake is located off of the island.

The Community:
Galveston has the amenities of a larger city, but with tight-knit small town friendliness. Its ethnically diverse citizens have worked together to make their city better since the early days of its founding in 1836. 

Galveston offers 32 miles of relaxing beaches, superb restaurants, top resort hotels, marvelous downtown shopping, numerous antique stores, incredible art galleries, fabulous entertainment and one of the largest and well-preserved concentrations of Victorian architecture in the country.

At 10.4 miles long, the seawall lining the Gulf of Mexico is the world's longest continuous sidewalk and attracts walkers, joggers, bicyclists, surfers, sunbathers, skaters and sightseers year-round. It's a great place to exercise or just sit to watch a flock of brown pelicans skim across the waves at sunset.

Recreation:
Galveston provides the perfect recipe for water sports.. Sailors can feel the salt spray from either the Gulf of Mexico or Galveston Bay in just minutes after setting sail. Offatts Bayou is a popular gathering spot for weekend sailors who want to weigh anchor and relax. Also, its protected waters are smooth-sailing for one-person or two-person sailboats. When the conditions are right, the bayou's glassy waters are good for skiing, too.

The Galveston Bay area hosts more sports fishermen than any other spot on the Texas Coast, for a good reason. More than 100 species of fish are caught here regularly, including speckled trout, redfish, flounder, golden croaker, drum and Spanish mackerel. Anglers can cast their lines wade fishing, from rock piers or boats in either the bay or the Gulf.

Sports enthusiasts can enjoy volleyball courts at East Beach and Stewart Beach.  There are two golf courses located on the Island - the Moody Gardens Golf Course and the Galveston Country Club.

Other than the beach, the top destination for Galveston visitors is the 242-acre Moody Gardens; part theme park, part educational and rehabilitative facility, part pleasure garden. Schlitterbahn Waterpark, a convertible waterpark with closeable sections, allows visitors to enjoy the facility year-round, while Jungle Surf Waterslide operates seasonally.

Galveston is also one of the top locations for birding in the United States. The Island is a central location for novice and expert birders, offering a wide variety of species.

Shopping:
Galveston has shopping for most everyone's tastes, whether you like upscale, artsy, or beach trendy. With a city this historically minded and individual in its tastes, expect to find wonderful antique and curio stores.  Antique lovers, art aficionados and shoppers of all kinds will discover beautiful and interesting objects on display at Galveston Island's myriad of shops. From the quaint shops of the Historic Downtown Strand District to the thoroughly modern retailers on Seawall Boulevard, shoppers will delight in the offerings ranging from fine to fun souvenirs. 

Festivals:
Two of the Island's largest annual events - Dickens on The Strand, a Victorian Christmas festival held in December; and Mardi Gras! Galveston, held between January and March, attracts hundreds of thousands of people with the quality of its parades and festivities.

Climate:
Galveston offers temperate, semi-tropical weather year-round; averaging 57° F in the winter months and 81° F in the summer months.

Government:
The City has a Council-Manager form of government since 1960. The City Council and Mayor establish policy through the adoption of ordinances. There is a mayor and six City Council positions.   The six council positions are elected by district and the mayor is elected at large.  The mayor and council members serve two year terms.  All council positions are eligible to serve three-two year terms.  The City Council appoints the City Manager and five other positions:  City Secretary, City Auditor, City Attorney, Tax Collector, and Municipal Court Judge.

Like state and federal government, city government is organized to balance the legislative, executive and judicial powers.  City Council is the legislative branch, which derives authority from a Charter, granted by the State of Texas; the City Manager is the chief executive officer; and the Courts determine whether or not the requisites of the law are met.

Operations:
The City has approximately 700 full-time employees and an annual budget of $90 million plus an additional $167 million in CDBG funds following Hurricane Ike. Services provided by the City include, public safety (police, fire, EMS, and communications); public works, water and sewer utilities, sanitation, parks and recreation, planning, and community development, transit system, airport,  code enforcement  and construction permits, and administrative services.

The Position:
The Council shall appoint a City Manager, who shall be the chief administrative and executive officer of the City. The City Manager is responsible for operation of all City functions:  employment of all personnel; and development, presentation, and operation of the City budget; and implementation of City Council's policies.

The City Manager serves as the Chief Negotiator for both Civil Service and Collective Bargaining for Fire and Police.  The City Manager is responsible for Emergency Management.  In addition, the City Manager has the responsibility and oversight for all grants, currently over $500 million in CDBG Disaster Recovery funds, additional FEMA funds and grants, and other grant funding.  

The Ideal Candidate:
The ideal candidate will have a minimum of ten (10) years progressively responsible, executive level experience in municipal management with a diverse, general background in all aspects of city government and significant, direct responsibility for management of municipal operations.  Prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or the equivalent in a comparable or larger community is preferred.  Experience with emergency management and tourism will be beneficial.

This person will demonstrate superior management skills and have the ability to make strategic decisions pertaining to staff and procedures within the department. The City Council will rely heavily on the expertise, judgment and recommendations of the City Manager so this individual should have the ability to effectively delegate authority and responsibility while maintaining appropriate levels of operational control.

The ideal candidate should be able to build successful partnerships both internally and with the community to ensure a common vision is enacted and supported. This individual will be a visible leader and should have a genuine interest in actively participating in the community.  Effective communication along with strong collaboration and team building skills will be necessary for this individual to be successful.  He / she should possess the capacity and interest to be an effective mentor and leader for staff. 

The ideal candidate will need to have experience in redevelopment, community development and neighborhood revitalization and understand the challenges and needs of a city recovering from a natural disaster; infrastructure and public works experience will be beneficial.

The ideal candidate will be fiscally conservative and have a strong background in finance.  Knowledge of and familiarity with the budgetary process and the federal process for distributing disaster funding will be imperative.  The successful candidate will have experience utilizing data-driven performance management processes.

Education:
Interested candidates should possess a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited four-year college or university in Government, Public Administration, Business, or a related field. A Master's Degree is preferred.

Salary:
The City of Galveston is offering a competitive salary commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package. Relocation assistance will be available for any successful out of area candidate.

How to Apply:
Interested applicants should forward a cover letter and resume to:

resumes@affionpublic.com
Reference:GCM

Affion Public
20 North 2nd Street, Suite 200
Harrisburg, PA 17101
888.321.4922
Fax: 717-214-2205
www.affionpublic.com

 

 

 Deadline for resume submittal: October 17, 2011

Posted: 03/22/2022