Three tango for city manager spot

Two city managers from neighboring states and a Missouri State University administrator are all that’s left of 252 candidates who applied to become Springfield’s next city manager.

A 21-person committee overseeing the hiring process met in closed session July 21 with representatives from Harrisburg, Penn.-based search firm Arcus Public to narrow a pool of eight candidates down to three finalists. The meeting lasted more than four hours.

The candidates, in alphabetical order, are:

• Greg Burris, vice president for administrative and information services and chief information officer at MSU, where he has spent his entire 25-year career. He has a bachelor’s degree in computer information processing and a master’s degree in business administration, both from MSU;

• Kent A. Myers, city manager for Hot Springs, Ark.; former city manager in Casa Grande, Ariz., and Converse, Texas; he also worked for the East Texas Council of Governments. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Texas at Arlington and a master’s degree in public administration from Texas Christian University; and

• Larry Stevens, city manager for Edmond, Okla., where he has been since 2002. His previous positions include city manager for Pittsburg, Kan., and Brookfield, Mo.; community services director for Nevada, Mo.; and internal auditor for the Kansas City Police Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice/political science and a master’s degree in public services administration from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg.

Deputy City Manager Evelyn Honea, who has been with the city for 26 years, has been serving as interim city manager since Bob Cumley retired at the end of May. Cumley spent 36 years with the city and was named city manager in April 2006 after his predecessor, Tom Finnie, retired.

Hometown option

Of the three candidates, Burris stands out in two regards: He’s a lifelong Ozarks resident and his career track as an administrator has played out in a university – rather than municipal – setting. Despite the differences, Burris suggested that the MSU campus during school is similar to a small city.

“My position has a lot of parallels to what a city manager does,” he said. “In essence, I’m doing a lot of those responsibilities for a city of 25,000. When this university is fully populated with the students, faculty and staff, we’re the eighth largest metropolitan area in the state.”

Still, Burris said he expects to field a lot of questions about the fact that he’s never managed a city, but he thinks there are advantages to being the odd man out.

“If my greatest perceived weakness is that I haven’t been a city manager, my greatest strength may be that I haven’t been a city manager,” he said.

The suburbanite

Larry Stevens, on the other hand, has 20 years of experience as a city manager. Stevens holds the title in Edmond, Okla., a suburb of Oklahoma City with a population of about 76,000. Although Edmond is half the size of Springfield, it’s almost twice as large as Hot Springs, Ark., where Myers is city manager.

Stevens – a native of Kansas City suburb Blue Springs – has been eyeing a return to the Show-Me State for some time, and he said Springfield’s city manager opening is the perfect invitation.

“Those opportunities just don’t come along very often, and Springfield has had a longstanding reputation for excellence and professionalism,” he said.

Stevens said Edmonds and Springfield face many of the same challenges as rapidly growing communities, such as maintaining quality of life. He also pointed to his experience working with unions in Edmond, where about 85 percent of municipal employees are unionized.

Hot Springs’ similarities

Myers is city manager in Hot Springs, a resort town of about 38,000 southwest of Little Rock that draws some 3 million tourists each year.

During his more than 13 years there, the city of Hot Springs built the state’s largest convention center and sold property to Springfield’s own John Q. Hammons for a new Embassy Suites Hotel.

“But there comes a point in my career when I’m looking for a new challenge, and Springfield just seems like it’s the right opportunity,” said Myers, who was recently named a finalist for the city manager position in Bend, Ore.

Myers said Hot Springs and Springfield have diverse economies with large health care sectors, and he also noted that both cities are riding a wave of redevelopment.

Each of the candidates already has been interviewed at least six times by Arcus representatives, according to a blog by Louise Whall, the city’s public information director. The city has three pay ranges starting at $160,000 a year and topping out at $225,000 for the position.

Once the top candidate is selected, City Council will negotiate contract terms as well as a start date and conduct additional required background checks. If all goes as scheduled, the city expects to announce the new city manager the week of Aug. 11.

Face Time with the Finalists

The three city manager finalists have been invited to Springfield Aug. 3–5 for a tightly scheduled series of formal interviews and public events:

• welcome reception 4–6 p.m. Aug. 3 in the upper lobby of Mediacom Ice Park.

• coffee with the candidates open house 7:30–8:30 a.m. Aug. 4 at the Park Central Square Library Branch.

• reception for city employees and the public to meet the candidates 4:30–5:30 p.m. Aug. 4 in the Busch Building lobby; and

• ice-cream social 5:45–7 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Phelps Grove Park pavilion, or the Busch Building in case of inclement weather.

Candidate Bios

Greg Burris

1983–Present - Missouri State University

4/2002–Present - Vice President for Administrative & Information Services and Chief Information Officer

10/1996–4/2002 - Associate Vice President for Administrative Services and Chief Information Officer

1993–9/1996 - Coordinator of Management Information Systems

1988–1993 - Systems Analyst

1983–1988 - Programmer/Analyst

Kent Myers

1994–Present - City manager of Hot Springs, Ark. (Pop. 38,000)

4/1989–11/1994 - City manager of Casa Grande, Ariz. (Pop. 21,000)

12/1981–4/1989 - City manager of Converse, Texas (Pop. 10,000)

12/1978–11/1981 - East Texas Council of Governments, University of Texas at Arlington

• Acting Executive Director

• Assistant to the Director

• Regional Services Director

3/1977–11/1978 - City of Hurst, Texas

• Research Associate

• Administration Intern

Larry Stevens

3/2002–Present - City manager of Edmond, Okla. (Pop. 76,000)

2/1991–3/2002 - City manager of Pittsburg, Kan. (Pop. 19,200)

10/1988–2/1991 - City manager of Brookfield, Mo. (Pop. 5,500)

12/1983–10/1988 - City of Nevada, Mo. (Pop. 9,000)

• Community Services Director

3/1980–12/1983 - Kansas City, Mo. Police Department (Pop. 400,000)

• Internal Auditor

2/1978–6/1979 - City of Warrensburg, Mo. (Pop. 16,000)

• Administrative Assistant

• Internship