'Bell' Chimes in as New La Grange City Manager

La Grange City Manager Fred Bell attended his first city council meeting Monday night, March 27.

Monday was Bell’s first day on the job. Bell has served 33 years in city government with 24 of those years in law enforcement, including two stints as a police chief. He previously served as assistant city manager for San Benito, a town in the Rio Grande Valley.

“I’m married and my wife is at our place in the valley for right now until I get my feet on the ground,” he said. “Then I’ll transition and move her up at a later date.”

“I’ve worked in communities that are affluent and some that are disadvantaged,” Bell said. “I think that’s enhanced my skill set when transferring from law enforcement to a city management role.”

Bell said he’s familiar with managing water and sewer systems, roads, infrastructure and most other aspects of city management. The previous cities he worked at had open market electrical providers.

“That’s one thing I’m looking forward to learning, the electric system,” Bell said. “This will be my first exposure in dealing with that.”

Bell praised Assistant City Manager Frank Menefee and City Secretary Janet Bayer for bringing him up to speed on the various city projects underway. He met with all department heads and most city employees on Monday.

“It’s a very welcoming community,” Bell said. “I’ve been spending some time in La Grange on my own leading up to this. I’ve stayed a few nights in hotel room, spending time to get a feel for the community. First impressions? This is a great community.”

He attended the Texas Women’s League Gala earlier this month at the invitation of Mayor Jan Dockery.

“I came up and got to meet many people,” Bell said. “Everyone was really welcoming.” Bell described his management style as progressive with a focus on customer service.

“They always say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” Bell said. “I believe in that, but if it ain’t broke, that doesn’t mean we can’t improve it. My goal is to see where we are doing well, and then how the departments can enhance the deliverables.”

Bell said he hasn’t heard of any major issues in city government that give him concern.

“My job is to figure out where we want to take the city next,” Bell added. “It’s pretty evident that we do not want to change the identity of La Grange. What I want to do and my expectations are raising the bar with how we do customer service and how we can deliver and take it to the next level.”