Jason Gage exits as Springfield's city manager

Springfield City Manager Jason Gage is slated to exit his position tomorrow after submitting his resignation in October.

On his final work day as city manager, Gage reflected on his more than six-year tenure and called for "bold" steps to move Springfield forward.

Gage, 56, said in an interview with Springfield Business Journal that the city is "trending in the right direction" with crime coming down 30.4% between 2020 and April 2024; the poverty rate dropping to 19.4% in 2023 from 24.8% in 2018; and the Springfield median household income rising by 34% 2018-22, compared with 23% growth at the metropolitan statistical area level, 19% at the state level and 20.7% at the U.S. level during that time.

"I don't attach the word ‘I’ to them, I attach the word ‘we,’" Gage said of city accomplishments made during his tenure. "It's not about I; it's about we."

Gage said strong voter support in Springfield additionally led to passage of all sales tax ballot renewals and charter ordinance questions during his time as city manager.

"The Springfield public, if you do what you say you're going to do ... they provide strong support," Gage said. "The taxpayers here, the voters, they support Springfield better than any community that I've been in."

While he said he believes Springfield has a strong foundation, including its slate of private companies, Gage said "bold" measures are needed to move the city forward.

He provided an example in the three-quarter-cent sales tax that was approved as Question 1 in the Nov. 5 election by Springfield voters. Part of the tax continues to pay into the Police and Fire Pension Fund, while two-thirds of it is estimated to raise $30 million annually and is earmarked for initiatives found in Forward SGF, the city’s 20-year comprehensive plan that ends in 2040, according to past reporting.

"Some of the components are a little bit watered down from what they could have been," Gage said, pointing to a lack of a provision in the tax initiative to cover infrastructure for improvements to the Lake Springfield area.

Gage added, "We have not been bold. We have a hard time being bold in Springfield. Our leadership in our community is scared to death of bold decisions."

As Gage moves beyond his role at the Springfield municipality, he said he would continue to seek city manager roles to further his career. In recent months, he was in the running for city manager jobs in St. Joseph and Manhattan, Kansas.

"Wherever I can make a difference, that's where I want to be," he said.

Springfield City Council voted last month to appoint Deputy City Manager Collin Quigley as interim city manager, effective Jan. 12.

The city, which has hired Strategic Government Resources to assist in the search for Gage’s successor, in February expects to select semifinalist candidates, said city spokesperson Cora Scott. In March and April, interviews would be conducted to narrow the pool to finalists, with further on-site interviews planned, Scott said, noting the next city manager's start date would be negotiable.

The municipality’s separation agreement with Gage, who earns an annual salary of nearly $268,000, points to total severance in the amount of $415,605.