© 2015 Chris Hartung Consulting, LLC 1

The City of Chickasha, Oklahoma is seeking an

energetic public management professional to be

its new

Assistant City Manager

CITY OF

CHICKASHA

WELCOME TO CHICKASHA!

Located on rolling Oklahoma prairie land that was once

inhabited by Native American Indian tribes and buffalo

herds, Chickasha is the county seat of Grady County and

has a current population of 16,034. Located on Interstate

44 at its intersection with US Highways 81, 281, 62 and

several state highways, Chickasha is only 45 minutes from

Oklahoma City, one of the fastest growing cities in the

country. The city is also served by two railroads and the

Chickasha Municipal Airport with its 5,100 foot runway.

The local business community is diversified and includes

manufacturing, education, retail and other services

Chickasha is located in the middle of the South Central

Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP). SCOOP encom-

passes 3,300 square miles of south-central Oklahoma; most of which is within four counties- Stephens, Grady, Garvin and

Carter. The area is experiencing significantly increased exploration as a result of interest in this new energy find, the poten-

tial of which some have compared to the Bakken area of North Dakota. In addition, Chickasha is experiencing several new

retail developments, two planned hotels and a 200 home subdivision. Sales taxes are increasing by double-digits.

Chickasha’s location just 45 minutes southwest of Oklahoma City and 40 minutes west of Norman, gives residents access to

the amenities of a major metropolitan area including professional and major college sports, a major commercial airport, thea-

ter and other cultural activities. At the same time, residents enjoy the quiet atmosphere of a small town.

The city offers a broad variety of cultural and arts programs as well as a number of special events throughout the year. The

University of Science and the Arts of Oklahoma (USAO), hosts many fine arts and performing arts events. USAO is the

only liberal arts university in Oklahoma and has been recognized as one of the highest ranked public liberal arts college in

the nation. The University of Oklahoma in Norman and Oklahoma City University are both less than an hour drive from

Chickasha.

Chickasha Public Schools serves the community with quality personnel and facilities including the Chickasha High School

Activity Center. CHS has been recognized as one of “America’s Best High Schools” by Newsweek magazine. Another

component of the educational system in the area is the Canadian Valley Technology Center which has served the high-tech

educational needs of Grady County for over 40 years. CVTC provides career education in a variety of fields as well as cus-

tomized training and consultation services for area businesses.

Residents of Chickasha can also take advantage of an extensive parks system that offers a wide variety of facilities and recre-

ational activities. The Chickasha Sports Complex includes soccer fields, ball fields, playgrounds and supporting facilities.

The Sports Complex hosts a number of tournaments that attract large numbers of visitors to the city. Chickasha’s Festival

of Lights draws over 250,000 visitors to the City in late November and December and with over 3.5 million lights, it is one

of the biggest and best light shows in the nation.

City Hall

© 2015 Chris Hartung Consulting, LLC 2

The Chickasha area is also served by a vibrant, modern medical community through two large medical clinics located adjacent

to the Grady Memorial Hospital medical campus, as well as a variety of other medical and health services.

Chickasha is also home to the Grady County Fairgrounds which hosts events almost every weekend. It is currently going

through an expansion that will allow it to serve larger venue events to bring in more tourism dollars.

GOVERNANCE

The City of Chickasha operates under a Home Rule City Charter, adopted by the citizens in 1946 and last amended in 2005,

which provides for a Council/Manager form of government. The City is governed by a City Council composed of the Mayor

and eight Council members who serve two-year terms of office. The city is divided into four wards which are represented by

two Council members each who are required to live in the ward they serve. One member from each ward is elected in odd-

numbered years and one is elected in even-numbered years. All Council members are voted on by all qualified voters of the

city. The Mayor and City Council members also serve as the boards for the Chickasha Municipal Authority, which oversees

the city’s utility operations, and the Chickasha Municipal Airport Authority.

The City Council appoints a City Manager to serve as the administrative head of the municipal government by a majority of

five (5) votes on the basis of his/her executive and administrative qualifications. The City Manager serves at the pleasure of

the majority of the whole City Council and may be terminated by five (5) affirmative votes. Under the City Charter, the City

Manager has the authority to appoint and remove all employees of the City except as provided otherwise by the Charter. The

City Manager is charged with managing the day-to-day operations of the city government including the preparation, submittal

and oversight of the annual municipal budget.

The City Manager of Chickasha directs the affairs of a full service municipal organization with 131 full-time and 9.5 FTE part

-time and seasonal employees and a Fiscal 2014-2015 combined budget that totals over $37 million for all funds. The Gen-

eral Fund represents $9.8 million, and the Municipal Authority/Utilities Fund represents $13.0 million of the total. The pri-

mary revenue sources for the city include sales taxes and water, sewer and sanitation service fees. The city provides services

through a number of departments and divisions including Police, Fire (includes EMS), Finance, Public Works (includes utili-

ties and solid waste), Community Development, Park and Recreation, Library and Municipal Airport. The City Manager

serves on the Board of the Economic Development Corporation. The City has collective bargaining agreements with unions

representing police and fire employees which are renegotiated annually.

The current City Manager is Alan Guard, who was appointed to the position in April, 2015. Mr. Guard previously served as

the Chief Financial Officer of Rowlett, Texas and Davenport, Iowa. He has previous experience in a number of positions in

cities in Iowa and Texas.

© 2015 Chris Hartung Consulting, LLC 3

INITIAL PRIORITIES FOR THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER

The City Manager will expect the new Assistant City Manager to give priority to the following issues: Social Media: The City Manager will look to the new Assistant City Manager to become famil-iar with the city’s public education and infor-mation efforts and look for opportunities to uti-lize social media in those efforts. This will also include expanding use of the City’s website Human Resources and Risk Management: The City has a need to update and streamline the human resources and risk management function. The City Manager will expect the Assistant City Manager to also modernize the City’s hiring process. Application of Technology: The City Manager is interested in identifying opportunities to utilize technology to make the city organization more efficient and effective. He will look for candidates who have accomplishments in the application of technology to local government and will want the new Assistant to develop recommendations in this area. Volunteer Initiative: The City Manager is committed to the development and maintenance of an extensive volunteer pro-gram within City departments to take advantage of the knowledge and passion of the citizens of Chickasha and surround-ing communities. The City Manager will want the new Assistant to quickly become familiar with the operations of the City and look for opportunities to strengthen the City’s service delivery through the effective use of volunteers.

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND TRAITS

The City Manager is seeking candidates who are generalists with experience in the management of a municipal organization. Experience with a small or medium size community will be a plus. The City Manager has indicated his interest in candi-dates who have established reputations for excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to develop and maintain positive rela-tionships with a broad range of people in a diverse community. Strong leadership skills and a track record of finding crea-tive solutions to difficult problems are desired. In addition to these qualities, the City Manager is interested in candidates who exhibit the following knowledge, skills and abilities:

A reputation as a team player who applies personal ethics that reflect honesty and integrity in all relation-ships to establish an example to staff and citizens alike.

No. 1 Fire Station

Shannon Springs Park

Effective delegation skills with an ability to hold people accountable for results without becoming a micromanager

A record of having highly developed collaboration skills.

A person who is politically savvy while remaining apolitical.

A forward thinking manager who is able to anticipate problems and develop practical strategies for addressing them.

Well-developed communication skills and an understanding that effective communications begins with effective listening.

A working knowledge of municipal operations including finance and budgeting with a reputa-tion for conservative fiscal management.

© 2015 Chris Hartung Consulting, LLC 4

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The position requires a bachelor’s degree in government, political science, public or business administration or a related field with a minimum of three years of local government experience. A master’s degree is a plus. Prior experience in a growth community with a diverse population and with downtown redevelopment is also a plus. The selected candidate must pass a drug test, driver’s license check, criminal history background check, and social security number verification check prior to employment and must have or be able to get a Class “C” Oklahoma Driver’s License.

The City Manager is seeking candidates who would see this position as a very good career opportunity and who truly want to make a difference in the lives of the citizens of Chickasha.

THE COMPENSATION

The starting salary is $70,000. The city benefits package includes medical, dental and vision insurance – single premium $100, family premium $200 monthly. OMRF AAA Plan, 10 years vesting, employee contributes 4%, city contributes 12.22%. Life insurance, sick leave, vacation and holidays. Chickasha is an excellent place to live and work.

TO APPLY

Send an electronic version of your current resume, salary history and a list of ten work-related references (including supervi-sory) with phone numbers ASAP to G. Chris Hartung at jobsearch@chcpublicsectorsolutions.com . The first review of candidates will be June 22, 2015. Candidates will be referred to the City Manager in July, 2015 for interviews in Chickasha.

Applicants for this position selected as finalists will be subject to a background review prior to interview. Under the Oklaho-ma Public Information Act, information from your resume may be subject to release to the public.

The City of Chickasha is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages anyone interested in this position to apply. Chick-asha desires diversity at all levels of its workforce!

Chickasha High School County Fair Grounds

CITY OF

CHICKASHA