City manager cuts his own job
You wanna talk downsizing? How about this: Keller, Texas, City Manager Dan O’Leary downsized himself. That’s right, when O’Leary decided recently that management at city hall was top-heavy, he laid himself off, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Keller said the town of about 40,000 people north of Fort Worth no longer needs three city managers, including his two assistant managers. So on March 20, Keller gave notice at the job he has held since December 2007. He said he will recommend one of his assistants to replace him, while he looks for a new job.
It’s not that O’Leary hasn’t done a good job in Keller, by all accounts. He got a good performance review last time. He gets along with his bosses – the mayor and city council praise him. They credit him with helping the city nail down the No. 7 spot in 2009 in CNN/Money magazine’s list of the top 100 small towns. And at age 57, O’Leary isn’t ready to retire yet.
But O’Leary takes that efficiency and cost-cutting stuff seriously. To save money, he cut the city’s workforce and combined services with other cities. And he brought in his two assistant city managers to help.
Now things have changed, O’Leary said. “It’s a little unusual for a city of our size to have three city managers,” he told the Star-Telegram. “There was a time that was needed, but at this point in time, I don’t think we need three city managers.”
So, as far as O’Leary is concerned, that was it. His last day will be April 20. He has some unused vacation pay coming, and he’s got feelers out.
“I’ve put my hat in the ring in a couple of (Dallas-Fort Worth) Metroplex cities,” he told the newspaper. “But I don’t have any job offers right now. I’m like everyone else. I don’t know if I’m going to find one or not.”