Killeen City Council meets prospective assistant city manager

Killeen Daily Herald
By Kevin Limiti | Herald
October 3, 2023

The Killeen City Council on Tuesday discussed the potential appointment of a new assistant city manager during its workshop meeting.

Laurie Wilson — who previously worked for the city of Carrollton as an Administrative Services Director — was chosen as the final candidate for the assistant city manager position and will likely be approved at the next council meeting.

“I’m thrilled to be here this evening,” Wilson said. “I was very excited not only for the opportunity but for my family. We have every intention of moving to the city of Killeen and becoming residents and getting highly involved in the community.”

Wilson has 11 years of experience in government. She has worked in the city of Carrollton since 2012 and worked her way up to Administrative Services Director as of 2017.

The population of Carrollton is 133,251, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2021. Killeen’s population is close to 160,000, according to a 2022 estimate.

Councilman Michael Boyd asked if she was going to live in the city of Killeen, even though he said Wilson had already answered the question.

“We’re actually looking at houses Thursday and Friday,” Wilson said of her family.

Councilman Riakos Adams asked Wilson if she had a chance to look at the city’s comprehensive plan.

“I’m very excited about it, to put together a plan like that takes tremendous commitment and dedication,” Wilson said, praising how the city put into the plan “actionable items.”

Adams asked if she looked into the homeless issue.

Wilson said she hadn’t spent a lot of time looking specifically into it, but acknowledged the issue was affecting a lot of communities.

Councilwoman Jessica Gonzalez said she trusts the city manager’s decision, but said there was some “concern and skepticism” from the public of someone coming from the outside. She asked Wilson how she would reassure the community about her appointment.

Wilson said one of the things is she would be active in the community. She told Mayor Pro Tem Nina Cobb that she is very big into volunteering in her spare time.

Mayor Debbie Nash-King said she was excited about the appointment and told Wilson she is “extremely big on the comprehensive plan.”

“Mr. Cagle has been carrying the weight and for him to choose you, I’m very excited,” Nash-King said. “We trust him … Because you will be working with me and the rest of the council. So it’s very important to have that overview of what is needed.”

The final tally of candidates was 88, according to the presentation. Ten candidates did a video interview and five took part in an in-person interview on Sept. 8.

The mayor also said the council would look into hiring a second assistant city manager for next year, if the budget allows for it.

City Manager Kent Cagle said in August the salary for an assistant city manager was budgeted at $195,000.

Wilson would be paid $185,000 if she is approved.

The city’s previous assistant city manager, Danielle Singh, was hired at $175,000 annually. She left the city in late May to take the city manager’s post in Jarrell, a fast-growing city between Belton and Georgetown along I-35.

Cagle said Monday that adding a second assistant city manager would have to be a part of the budget process starting in February or March and likely wouldn’t take effect until October 2024.

But he said cities having additional assistant city managers aren’t unusual.

According to the Strategic Government Resources website, which is the outside company doing the recruiting for assistant city manager, Killeen’s ideal candidate is “a city management generalist with significant knowledge and understanding of the full spectrum of city operations and services.”

The type of experience the city of Killeen is looking for are candidates who have been city managers at smaller municipalities or have been assistant city managers at larger cities.

A bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration or related degrees is another requirement.

Singh had been with the city of Killeen for the past four years and had been assistant city manager since April 2021.

Singh had started working in the city of Killeen in 2018 as director of public works.

When Cagle and the council picked Singh for the No. 2 spot three years ago, 58 other applicants had submitted resumes for the job. That included some with more city management experience than Singh, including a former Copperas Cove city manager.

In 2021, the city paid more than $14,000 for the nationwide job search.

This year, Cagle said the city of Killeen paid $26,000 to the Strategic Government Resources for the search for a new assistant city manager.

Resident Michael Fornino said during public comments that the city should delay appointing an assistant city manager. He said there was no transparency on the selection.

“Yes, the prospective candidate’s resume and name was posted to the agenda,” Fornino said. “But I wonder if like last time there was anything with the previous city manager fired for cause and was proud of it … Let’s get a more public review.”

Anca Neagu said Wilson had a great resume, but she wanted to see the other 87 resumes of assistant city manager applicants.

“The last city manager lived in another county,” Neagu said, which she said is against the city ordinance.

Nash-King responded to the public comments by saying that the city of Killeen was not blindsided by the choice of Wilson.

“It’s not like the council has been left out of the loop,” Nash-King said, explaining that Cagle kept them in the loop about the hiring of the assistant city manager. “It’s not that we’ve been blindsided or we don’t know what’s going on."

The council meeting began at 4 p.m. and ended before the hour was up. The meeting was held earlier to allow time for city officials to attend the National Night Out events in the city.