STRATEGIC GOVERNMENT RESOURCES
Burkburnett City Manager Finalists Named (Feb. 16, 2011 citybase.net)
Burkburnett Mayor Carl Law announced today that the City Council has
narrowed the field for City Manager to five finalists who will be
interviewed for the position on March 3. Mayor Law said "We had an
incredibly strong field of national contenders brought to us by SGR
Executive Search. The City Council is excited that we have five
exceptional candidates to interview."
According to Ron Holifield, CEO of SGR Executive Search, Burkburnett
represented a "wonderful opportunity" that drew 63 candidates from 21 states
seeking to become Burkburnett City Manager. Of that number, 33 had
experience as a city manager, three had experience as an Assistant City
Manager, and 13 had experience as a department head. Six had experience as
an Executive Director of a non city agency, and eight had private sector
executive experience.
The City Council initially narrowed the field to 15 semi finalists who were
reviewed by the Council in executive session to select the final five who
are being invited in for interviews. Mayor Law said that the field of 15
was "so strong that all but one of the 15 had at least one council member
who thought that they were worthy of being interviewed. But after much
lengthy and detailed deliberation, we reached unanimous consensus that these
five candidates represented the best potential for the right match to help
lead Burkburnett into the future." Mayor Law said it "was a challenging
process because we had so many good choices, but in the end, the City
Council is unanimous and enthusiastic about the five who we are going to
interview." Of the 15 semi finalists, ten had experience as city managers,
two had experience as an Assistant City Manager, and three had experience as
municipal department heads.
Interim Burkburnett City Manager Don Ives has served in that role since
former City Manager Mike Slye resigned to take the City Manager position in
Trophy Club in September. Ives has been with the City of Burkburnett since
July of 2010, when he joined the City as Director of Administration. Prior
to that, he served as City Manager of Alvarado, Assistant City Manager of
White Settlement, Director of Finance in Stephenville, Assistant City
Manager of Granbury and Director of Administrative Services for Greenville.
Ives is a member of the Texas City Manager's Association, and a member of
the Government Finance Officer's Association, which he also served on the
state board for. He is a Certified Government Finance Officer. Ives holds
a BBA degree from Tarleton State University in Stephenville.
Jay Burch has serve as Managing Director/Chief of Police of the Mount
Pleasant, Texas Police Department, which he led to achieve the prestigious
standard of an "accredited police department" since 2005. He previously
served as Chief of Police for Gatesville and as a Police Lt. in DeSoto.
Prior to his municipal career, he held various technical and management
positions with Atlantic Richfield. Burch achieved the Certified Public
Manager designation from SFA University in 2011, and holds an advanced
executive certification at the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration.
He served as the first chairperson of the DeSoto Code of Ethics Committee.
Burch holds a Master's of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from
Sam Houston State University and a BA from Dallas Baptist University in
Criminal Justice and Public Administration.
Leroy Alsup has served as County Administrator for Cowley County, Kansas
since 2004. He previously served as City Manager of Coffeyville, Kansas as
well as Cushing, Oklahoma and Brinkley Arkansas. He also served as Director
of Economic Development for the Altus, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce, and as
Associate Director of the Department of Urban Development for Shreveport,
Louisiana. Alsup is a Credentialed Manager by the International City/County
Management Association, is an IEDC Certified Economic Developer, and a
graduate of Leadership Kansas. Alsup holds an MBA from Southwestern
College, a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Kansas,
an MA in Urban and Regional Planning from Miami University, and a BS from
West Texas State University.
Mark Browne has served as City Manager of Terrell Hills, Texas since 2005.
He previously served as Director of Operations, and as Director of Plans and
Resources for the Air Force Recruiting Service at Randolph AFB. He also
served as Deputy Commanding Officer of the 7th Support Group at Dyess AFB,
and as Commanding Officer of the 348th Recruiting Squadron at Little Rock
AFB. Browne holds a Doctor of Public Administration from the University of
Alabama, a Master of Strategic Studies from the Air War College, a Master of
Operations Management from the University of Arkansas, and a BBA from
William Jewell College.
Tim James has served as Assistant City Manager in Graham, Texas since 2007,
where he oversees nine city departments including development related
departments, water and sewer, code enforcement, streets and parks. He
previously served as Director of Engineering in Flower Mound, and as City
Engineer in Keller, Texas. He also served as an Associate Engineer II for
the City of Denton. James holds a Masters in Civil Engineering Degree from
Texas Tech University, a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Texas
Tech University and an Associate Degree from South Plains College.
Mayor Law indicated that the five finalists will be interviewed on March 3.
