A small town in South Carolina wasted $3,000,000 over the last few years. Now they are asking state authorities to investigate and determine whether a crime was committed. A Florida executive without any previous city manager experience has managed to negotiate his starting salary upwards by nearly 25% since he started in January 2025. And a county in Ohio is investigating to see if contracted services for senior citizens were actually performed.
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
IA: Cedar Falls - City Administrator (2/13/2026) | CB-Assoc
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
VA: Hopewell - City Manager (First Review 1/30/2026) CB & Assoc.
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 (1/30/2025) | Clear Career
TX: Marble Falls - Finance Director (2/7/2026) | Clear Career
TX: Odessa - Chief Financial Officer (First Review 2/22/2026) | Clear Career
OH: Why Yellow Springs water rates are so high, and other communities could soon follow
Yellow Springs customers pay about $100 more per quarter than the next highest city in the Dayton area. While rates have increased dramatically, Yellow Springs officials say it is because they have addressed 40 years of deferred maintenance. However, they also argue that other factors are playing a role, like regulations, and believe other communities will soon need to increase their own rates to achieve compliance.
WA: Recruitment Firm Withdraws Proposal for Services Due to Being Too Busy
After Bainbridge Island shockingly fired Prothman from their city manager recruitment, a firm they have worked with for 20 years, they unanimously approved a contract with Raftelis after Bob Murray & Associates pulled out.
“[They] let us know that they had accepted too many other recruitment opportunities to be able to do what they felt would be a good job for us,” said the acting city manager, Ellen Schroer.
FL: Key West City Manager Pushed for Huge Raise, Still Secures a Generous Bump
Key West City Manager Brian L. Barroso’s request for a significant pay raise and bump in transportation benefits caused significant community push back, but he is still walking away with a big increase.
He started out at $215,000 when he assumed the position in January 2025. It got bumped to $230,000 after six months. Now he is moving up to $265,000. Instead of increasing his transportation allowance of $500 a month, they have added a $500 per month expense account. The council refused to increase his severance protection from 15 weeks to the state maximum of 20 weeks, however.
Barroso entered the position from the banking industry without any previous city manager experience and is now one of the highest paid city managers in the state.
California's best city council should never grow up
The City of Gonzales Youth Council receives glowing praise in this op-ed, which also includes a statement attributed to the city manager acknowledging its key role in helping to build a $28 million community center in the town of 9,000.
If you are interested in learning more about youth councils, you may want to reach out to Gonzales City Manager Carmen Gil.
Side note — I was an inaugural member of the Riverside, California youth council back around 1994. Unfortunately, I never got to serve as my parents moved outside the city limits before I could be seated…
News Around the Country
CA: Privacy activists call on California to remove covert license plate readers
CA: Heated El Monte City Council meeting is forum for concern over encounter with immigration agents
CA: Riverside City Manager Mike Futrell Rolls Out 465 Objectives for 2026; Council Zeroes in on Homelessness, Fire and Equity
FL: Pembroke Park mayor files emergency lawsuit as attorney claims town manager is staging ‘illegal coup’
GA: City of Cordele votes to let go City Manager
IL: Streator city manager Dave Plyman announced his retirement this week, effective in May; Arndt Municipal Support is doing the recruitment for his replacement
MA: Select Board Votes To Withhold Individual Inputs In Andover Town Manager Evaluations
MI: UPDATE: Finance director terminated for insubordination by Leelanau County administrator; rejects severance offer in lieu of termination
MN: Forest Lake parts ways with city administrator after just a year
MN: A day in the life of a city administrator (Park Rapids)
MN: Winona County reassures residents amid ransomware incident
MO: After only 12 applications received by deadline, Festus extends search for city administrator
NC: Former Apex Town Manager Katy Crosby returns to Wake County to lead Zebulon
NH: Madison town administrator Linda Shackford resigns
NH: Merrimack town manager vilifies ICE facility plans
OH: Investigation sought into alleged fraud of Trumbull County senior services taxpayer dollars
PA: West Cornwall Township approves agreement for municipal management services with Cornwall Borough
SC: After $3M wasted, rural Lake City asks SLED and attorney general to decide if there was a crime
WA: Activists want action on ICE. Tacoma city leaders say options must be realistic
Compensation & Contracts
OH: Hilliard council hires Joshua Rauch as new city manager at $255k a year