Killeen assistant city manager search had 80 applicants

Killen Daily Herald
By Kevin Limiti | Herald
August 29, 2023

The search for the No. 2 job in the city is ongoing with Killeen officials saying they’ve had 80 applicants from 17 different states.

The salary for the assistant city manager is budgeted up to $195,000 a year, according to City Manager Kent Cagle.

“The finalists have not been confirmed yet,” he said in an email Tuesday. “I expect to interview up to 5 people on September 8.”

Mayor Debbie Nash-King said that when looking for a candidate for the assistant city manager position, she wants somebody to have the same qualities as the current city manager.

“What I’m looking for ... is in the absence of a city manager, (the assistant city manager) can step up,” Nash-King said Tuesday in a phone interview.“You want the assistant city manager to have the same qualities as the city manager.”

Nash-King explained that before the selection of an assistant city manager gets to the council, an outside company will narrow the candidates down. Then, Cagle will have a say in who gets selected out of the short list of candidates.

“They’ll probably narrow it down to four or six applicants,” Nash-King said. “Mr. Cagle will have a say in it and whoever he will select, he will bring that name before the council and the council will either vote for or against it.”

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.

Killeen’s search for a new assistant city manager began in May after the former assistant city manager, Danielle Singh, accepted a job as city manager in Jarrell, a fast-growing city between Belton and Georgetown on Interstate 35.

Singh had been with the city of Killeen for the past four years and had been assistant city manager since April 2021. Her starting salary when she accepted the No. 2 administrative position in Killeen was $175,000.

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.