City Manager
Albany, Georgia
sdsubadan@albany.ga.us

Economic recovery has been slow in Albany, Georgia (77,000 population). As the new city manager in 2015, my administration is focused on creating the best possible climate for economic development to ensure that Albany is a great place for existing businesses to expand and new businesses to locate.

It is a challenge to increase the number of available jobs and to ensure that there are qualified workers to fill these jobs. In response, we are working as a multisector collaborative in this endeavor, including the county government, the school board, three higher education institutions, the economic development commission, and the chamber of commerce, to tackle some of our greatest challenges.

Providing high-quality services while keeping the cost of government low is a challenge. Significant downsizing has created a lean and efficient organization resulting in lower property taxes. Continuing efficiency and revenue generating efforts will be ongoing.

Kenneth Williams
City Manager
Buda, Texas
kwilliams@ci.buda.tx.us

Buda (11,590 population) is experiencing a phenomenal growth rate and facing the challenges of providing essential services and infrastructure that come with such an increase.

Providing a long-term water supply for the increasing population in an area that has experienced long-term drought is a difficult task.

In response, the city has formed alliances with other cities, utility agencies, and water districts to arrive at solutions that provide water for the region. This has proven challenging in a place where conservation is often the top priority in evaluating sources that provide answers to water shortages.

Through good interaction with the community, foresight by the city council, and staff working to offer solutions agreeable to all, Buda is now on the brink of ensuring its water supply well into the future.

Fran David, ICMA-CM
City Manager
Hayward, California
fran.david@hayward-ca.gov

One challenge is managing after the 2015 election, where we had a majority of councilmembers up for election or reelection, as well as a ballot measure renewing a critical, existing tax.

A second challenge is that we are overwhelmed with development interest and cannot staff up fast enough from recession levels to handle the workload and provide the level of customer service we expect from ourselves.

My goals are to 1) ease the stress of the election process for the council and successfully reenact the tax, 2) minimize the challenges of workload demand on my organization, and 3) maximize the opportunities afforded our community from development interests while the economy holds steady.

Andy Pederson, ICMA-CM
Village Manager
Bayside, Wisconsin
apederson@bayside-wi.gov

One of the biggest challenges our community and organization face is communicating in a constantly changing, instantaneous, social media-driven society.

An equally difficult challenge is determining the manner in which people receive their information, especially with those who still do not receive electronic communication. As a local government, so many of us struggle with communicating complex issues in 140 characters or less.

As we provide the community with open communications through weekly e-mail newsletters, social media, print media, and more, are we communicating too much information or not in the right form? By the end of 2016, we may be communicating in a format that does not presently exist even as I write this.