A city in California is looking to ban employees from talking to the media. A mayor pro tem and her husband, who is the city’s public works director, are being investigated by the FBI as reports suggest he solicited campaign donations from individuals with pending permits. Demand for fireworks are thru the roof and San Antonio is creating a new department to bring greater accountability to construction project timelines and budgets.
All that and more news after the job postings.
Job Board Postings
It is free to post all of your senior and executive level recruitments over at the AAME job board. If you would like to include them in this newsletter, select the $199 option.
City/County Manager Recruitments
CO: Craig - City Manager (Until Filled) | in-house
IL: Streator - City Manager (3/23/2026) | Arndt Municipal Support
MO: Kirkwood - Chief Administrative Officer (3/6/2026) | CB-Assoc
SC: Blythewood - Town Manager (Until Filled) | Parker Poe Consulting
TX: Morgan’s Point Resort - City Manager (3/13/2026) | Clear Career
Other
IL: Village of St. Joseph - Public Works Director (2/23/2026) | in-house
PA: Cranberry Township - Director of Utilities (2/9/2026) | in-house
TX: Dumas - Finance Director (Until Filled) | Clear Career
TX: Bridgeport - Assistant Chief of Police (3/20/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Lufkin - City Engineer (3/30/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Marble Falls - Finance Director (Until Filled) | Clear Career
TX: Odessa - Chief Financial Officer (First Review 2/22/2026) | Clear Career
Another Scandal Brewing in North Carolina?
A few issues back, I shared a story about Richmond County Manager Bryan Land. It was recently learned that a company that was paying to store trailers on county owned land has moved those trailers to land owned by the county manager.
Land has faced scrutiny prior to this incident when he facilitated a controversial $375,000 public fund allocation to cover debt for safety barriers at the privately-owned Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. Commissioner Jamie Gathings has been extremely vocal in his criticisms of Land.
It should be noted that anonymous sourc(es) have asked me to dig into this situation and monitor it closely.
Cities Tackling Budget Issues Across the County
Anecdotally, it appears that an increasing number of communities are struggling with budget shortfalls.
CA: Vallejo City Council looks for cuts to tackle projected $20M shortfall
FL: Boynton Beach lays off top staff to cope with $4.9M budget deficit
FL: Sarasota County seeks to curb spending to avert budget crisis
MA: Hadley braces for sweeping cuts amid $1.5M budget deficit
MA: “Crippling” Budget Forecast: Local Aid Increase Fails to Keep Pace with Rising Costs in Rockland
TX: Amid ongoing budget crunch, Austin orders rubric for $17M social service cuts; council to vote on efficiency overhaul amid budget crisis, union concerns
CA: Who is The Voice of Government? Cypress Grapples With Who Can Speak For City
Cypress officials are looking to ban employees from speaking to reporters on behalf of the city without approval from the city manager, making them the latest elected leaders in Orange County to tackle who exactly gets to be the voice of local government.
News Around the Country
NATIONAL: Communities navigate high firework demand ahead of America’s 250th anniversary
AL: 'Responsible cities don’t wait for failure': Hoover City Council passes capital budget with Mayor Derzis stressing new proactive approach
CA: Obscene images, racist slurs disrupt California City Council meeting after Zoom feed hacked
CA: Los Angeles Fire Chief’s New Salary of $473,000 approved by unanimous vote
CA: Rancho Palos Verdes City Council To Consider Removing Traffic Circles
CO: Cortez City Council approves 'tax holiday' to refund over-collected revenues
FL: After lengthy search, Sarasota finds its new city manager in Karie Friling, their first female city manager
FL: Neighbors raise questions over disabled comments on Wakulla County's public Facebook pages
IL: Chicago’s credit rating downgraded over operating deficits
ME: Sewer backup leaves 91-year-old Saco woman with $28K bill; city says it's not liable
MO: The FBI is investigating Kansas City’s mayor pro tem and her husband, who is the director of public works
NC: Graham city council looks to reduce time for speakers during public comments at monthly meetings
NH: No changes to Meredith town government — will keep manager form
NJ: Two North Jersey towns join forces to save on trash removal. See how
NM: Curry County Administrator Lance Pyle hosting “County Manager for a Day” Program
OH: Boardman Trustee says tax levy wasn’t placed on ballot on time, will cost township $2M; meanwhile their search for an administrator has narrowed to five finalists
OH: Richwood elevates their water and sewer operator to village administrator (PAYWALL)
OR: Brenda Alvarado appointed as the City of Portland’s first immigrant affairs lead
PA: McCandless snags gold recertification for sustainable use of resources
SC: Hampton County government administration hosts first 'Tax Road Show'
TX: New city department in San Antonio seeks greater accountability on construction timeline, budgets
WY: Teton County has launched a search for their next administrator
Data Centers
OH: Ohio towns are pushing back against data centers -- to varying degrees of success
PA: 5 things to know about College Township’s zoning updates for potential data centers
Recent City Manager Unfiltered Podcast Episodes
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