Interim city manager shares final thoughts before departure

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - The city of Laredo finds itself once again in a situation all too familiar, without a city manager.

In June interim city manager, Keith Selman, cut short his contracted term of ten months citing personal reasons.

Before leaving, he sat down with KGNS for a post-perspective on his time as interim city manager.

Selman says it comes down to one issue to keep a city manager long term.

“If everybody could get their oars in the water and decide to row in the same direction. I think that’s one of our biggest problems. Everyone gets their oars in the water, but not everybody’s trying to row in the same direction, some are trying to go that way, some are trying to go that way” Selman said.

Selman stated that to get everyone to “paddle” the same direction, it lies with a city manager who is willing to stand their ground.

“You need to be willing to plant your feet” Selman said. At a city council meeting, an employee went before council and addressed what she said is a toxic work environment at city hall, filled with manipulation and micromanaging by external factions.

Selman addressed the employee’s concern.

“Proud of her that the courage to come forward and express things that were on her heart and things that were concerns of that she has, with, with city government” Selman said.

The city is undergoing a plan to find a new city manager, KGNS asked Selman on what characteristics the new manager should have.

“That’s a complex question. characteristics are, you just go across the gamete: capable, competent, certain skills, what skills? You know what, that’s what you’re asking? What should the skill sets be? It’s just hard to put a finger on all of them, but I would say you want someone who’s comfortable in their own skin” Selman said.

Selman believes says a good manager should fit the four areas: work with the city as a whole, work with councilmembers individually, fit with the organization itself, and fit with the community. He believes the new city manager should create an environment that rewards initiative, instead of punishing failure, which he states has been the norm.

“What can happen is, this happens in organizations periodically, that punishment, failures are punished to a greater degree than successes are rewarded. Particularly happens in government, because we don’t have those mechanisms for rewards, we don’t have bonuses, we can just start doing things like that and if failures are punished to a greater degree, then you stop seeing initiative” Selman said. Over the last couple of weeks, city council held two workshops to discuss the process of hiring the next city manager.

Deputy city manager, Rosario Cabello, will serve as interim city manager.