Mara named Decatur city manager

Nate Mara joined the Decatur Fire Department as one of the city’s first full-time firefighters in 2007.

Fifteen years later and two years after rising to fire chief, he is now taking on the task of managing the city. Monday night, the Decatur City Council named Mara the next city manager. He will start the new role July 1, following the retirement of Brett Shannon June 30.

“Naturally growing up in the fire station, we’re very service-oriented people. This is an opportunity to serve at a much higher level,” Mara said.
“It’s more responsibility and a larger scope of vision. We’ve organized the fire station to have a succession plan for emergencies, and we’re going to use it here for opportunities.”

Mara said he will meet with the department leadership Tuesday.

In announcing Mara as the finalist for the role, Mayor Mike McQuiston pointed out he will be only the third person in the job since 1958, following Sam Renshaw and Shannon.

“We’re continuing on the path to making Decatur greater. You’ve got yourself a great city manager,” McQuiston said.

Councilman Jake Hayes said his grandfather was on the council that hired Shannon. He said Mara’s passion for the city shined through the interview process.

“He’s done a terrific job with the fire department,” Hayes said. “The relationship he and Delvon [Campbell] have developed with the fire and police departments is unlike it’s ever been.

With this position, he’ll mesh the whole city staff together. He also has a knowledge of where the city has been. He’s been under Brett his whole career and has learned from him. Brett has put the city in excellent financial shape.”

Mara plans to work with Shannon to glean as much knowledge as he can in the next several weeks.

“Brett has promised to share everything he can in the next 35 days. Those are big shoes to fill and I’ll do due diligence to try to fill them,” Mara said.

Shannon appreciates the opportunity to hand the role off to Mara.

“He’ll do fine. Obviously there will be a little bit of a learning curve and he’ll have to get up to speed on a few things,” Shannon said. “No one loves Decatur more than me, other than Nate.”

As he steps into the role as the top administrator in the city, Decatur is in the middle of a $34 million capital improvement plan, which includes water, sewer, parks and library projects and the building of a new police station.

“The topic on everyone’s mind is the growth on its way,” Mara said. “We have a forward-thinking group and that’s going to be key. Early on, I’m looking forward to getting to know the managers on a higher level. I have a personal relationship with all of them, and we work well together. I want to build on that.”