Council to discuss results of City Manager’s meet and greet finalists Wednesday – The Amarillo Pioneer

Members of the public had their first chance to meet the finalists in the search for Amarillo’s next city manager Monday evening. Next, the Amarillo City Council will meet Wednesday to discuss what happens next.

Speaking to The Amarillo Pioneer, Grayson Path, one of two finalists and current city manager of Paris, Texas, said one of the biggest challenges he recently faced in Paris was building a new wastewater treatment plant to replace obsolete infrastructure. “When I got there, we had a World War II-era facility that had been neglected for many, many years,” Path said. “As we speak, we’re in the process of building a new factory. It’s about a $120 million project.”

Path also spoke about his philosophy on tax rates. Notably, during the last budget of the City of Paris, Path advocated for a 3.5% increase in the maintenance and operation rate without new revenues, the maximum allowed without requiring ratification elections. “What we were faced with in Paris, in their situation, we made a lot of cuts. We did a lot of traveling to find funds to focus on priorities. In the end, we had to raise the tax a little bit,” Path said. “But every community is different. Some communities have good sales tax or franchise fees. We didn’t have that in Paris to meet the needs of the community.

Matthew Allen, the other finalist and current city manager of Garden City, Kansas, told the Amarillo Pioneer that the biggest problem his city has faced recently is housing development. “We have an immediate demand for 3,000 units,” Allen said. “We have worked with developers, contractors and property owners to try to crack this code. Our community is currently experiencing enormous growth, so this is without a doubt the biggest challenge.

Allen also discussed the potential challenges of moving from a city governed by Kansas state law to Texas state law and making that adjustment. “Anytime you move from state to state, in local government, you have to develop a good understanding of the laws,” Allen said. “But a community like Amarillo has resources and staff that have been working for the community for years. It’s a learning curve, but it’s not an intimidating learning curve.

All current city council members attended the meeting except Josh Craft. Also present were Eddy Sauer and Howard Smith, two former Amarillo City Council members.

During the meeting, members of the public were encouraged to complete a survey reflecting their opinions of the candidates. Residents were asked to rank the two based on “community engagement,” “communication skills,” “knowledge, skills and abilities,” and “leadership and vision.”

The Amarillo City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, June 5 at City Hall to discuss the meeting, including survey responses. According to an agenda released by the city, the search for the city manager is the only item on the agenda. The council may meet in executive session for part of the meeting, but the meeting will otherwise be open to the public. The board is not expected to make a final decision at the special meeting because no action items are on the agenda. The full agenda for the special meeting, which will begin at noon, can be viewed at this link.

You can read our profile of the two finalists at this link.