Yoakum reviewing applications for new city manager

Officials of the City of Yoakum have been making some headway on the search for a new city manager.

Within the past six months, Yoakum has gone through two city managers. Both former city managers, Kevin Coleman and William Linn, were relieved of their duties.

As of now, there are seven applicants, one having withdrawn from consideration after he was hired elsewhere.

“We put together a review panel consisting of individuals from LCRA, a city manager from another city, and a local business here in town” Yoakum City Mayor Carl O’ Neill said. “They will be prioritizing and reviewing initial interviews for these applicants.”

There are several criteria city officials are looking for in a new city manager, all of them qualities that neither of the previous two Yoakum city managers exhibited much or used when conducting business.

“We are looking for a manager with good operational experience in the city itself, particularly infrastructure,” O’Neill said. “We also want a manager with good grant implementation skills. We want them to follow through with completion of those projects because we do have several grants that need to be implemented.”

“We also want a city manager who has good interactions with the public, industry people, and the clientele that we have. We want them to get a feel for what our city is looking for and what our public is looking for,” the mayor said. “We want them to have a good open and cohesive relationship with the public.”

This was stark contrast to the previous City Manager Linn, who preferred privacy above all else, kept a less than cordial relationship with local media and rarely left the confines of City Hall. He was ultimately dismissed from his duties because “his management style was not in sync with the council nor the public.”

We have good department heads, and they know their operational business, but I also need someone to oversee administration as well,” O’ Neill said.

There may be some changes which Linn planned to enact during the few weeks he spent as city manager. One of those included personnel manual recommendations to the council. While Linn was city manager, he capped pay raises on employee salaries after they reached a set number of years.

A new city manager may not be that far off, according to O’ Neill.

“We should have the applications to the panel this week,” O’ Neill said. “Hopefully by May 1, we’ll be looking at doing some final interviews. We’re shooting for the end of May to have that seat filled.”

O’ Neill says he has high hopes for the next city manager.

“Since we’ve already gone through two city managers, we now have a much better feel for what we’re looking for and what direction we want to head moving forward,” O’ Neill said. “Council is excited for a new city manager with good clear direction.”