Search for city manager The path to hiring Sharon Citino as city manager in Bellaire involved consensus-building exercises and several interim managers.
Feb. 21, 2021: Bellaire City Council unanimously
approves a contract with Ron Cox Consulting to facilitate a consensus- building exercise to determine qualities sought in the next city manager.
2021
2020
Aug. 2, 2020: Former City Manager Paul Hofmann resigns after serving in the position since 2014.
Aug. 3, 2020: Former Assistant City Manager Brant Gary is appointed as interim city manager.
SOURCE: CITY OF BELLAIRE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
con dence that she’s the right person to come in and reinvigorate things, be supportive of the sta that she leads and be a fresh start for the sta organization.” Two-year vacancy The search for a new full-time city manager included a series of exercises to get council members on the same page with what they were looking for, Council Member Nathan Wesley said. Those exercises took place through- out most of 2021 and continued when three new council members—Ross Gordon, Winfred Frazier and Brian Witt—were sworn into their positions in January following local elections last November. The search process o cially began in February as the new council mem- bers settled into their positions and government consulting rm CPS HR Consulting was brought on board to conduct a nationwide search. Wesley said it was important to accommodate the newly elected council members into the process. Past experience 2018-22: Water planning director, Houston Public Works Department 2015-18: Senior assistant attorney, Houston Public Works Department 2002-15: Assistant city attorney, Loveland, Colorado City manager key duties • oversees municipal departments and city sta day to day • oversees the implementation of City Council decisions • organizes and presents city budget [Citino] has experience managing people in a complex governmental situation. NATHAN WESLEY, COUNCIL MEMBER
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Nov. 2, 2021: Election Day brings three new members to the Bellaire City Council. Mayor Andrew Friedberg says consensus building will continue with new members.
Dec. 3, 2021: Gary resigns as interim city manager.
Bellaire has been without its o - cial chief administrator since August 2020, when then-City Manager Paul Hofmann resigned. Since Hofmann’s departure, the city has cycled through two interim managers: former Assis- tant City Manager Brant Gary, who lled the role from July 2020 through December 2021, and re Chief Deacon Tittel, who took the reins Dec. 6, 2021. With Citino now on board, coun- cil members said they expect her to make immediate contributions in helping the city pass its budget for s- cal year 2022-23. Her expertise with water-related issues will also come in handy, Mayor Andrew Friedberg said. The city is working on the nal touches of a mas- ter drainage concept plan to reduce ooding in the city, which could be released by the end of 2022. “Sharon is the right person at the right time for this [city] with her leadership style and her personal- ity,” Friedberg said. “We have a lot of
Dec. 6, 2021: Fire Chief Deacon Tittel is appointed to ll in as city manager as the search continues and ultimately serves until a permanent city manager is hired.
2022
Feb. 7, 2022: Council unanimously brings on CPS HR Consulting to begin the search process for city manager. July 11, 2022: Council unanimously votes to approve the appointment of Sharon Citino.
“Because terms were ending [in 2021], it was appropriate to let the next council handle it,” he said. Disruption caused by the COVID- 19 pandemic also contributed to the city’s decision to leave the search on the back burner, Wesley said. “If there was ever a time when that kind of long-range planning could be put on hold, that was it,” Wesley said. The city manager was not the only position left un lled: In the last year, Bellaire has had to work around 17 vacant positions, or nearly 10% of the city’s workforce, Wesley said. Community development and public works were the hardest hit by sta shortages with key positions being left for city employees to ll in the gaps, Wesley said. Moving forward Appointed directly by council, the city manager is the chief administra- tive o cer who provides day-to-day oversight of municipal departments and has greater autonomy than the mayor. A resident of Braeswood Place and a Bellaire High School parent, Citino is familiar with the community and the issues it faces, Friedberg said. “Sharon’s established relationships with other entities in our area and her familiarity with and understanding of our shared regional challenges will undoubtedly be of bene t to Bellaire moving forward,” he said in a state- ment following her hiring. Prior to her appointment as city manager, Citino worked in local government for 20 years, serving as assistant city attorney of Loveland, Colorado, for 13 years and seven years with the city of Houston, includ- ing three years as senior assistant
Aug. 15, 2022: Citino o cially begins as city manager.
attorney and four years as water planning director for the city’s public works department. As planning director, Citino was in charge of a team of 119 employees and administered an annual budget of $15.4 million. “It was a really great experience to move from the legal side and advis- ing to getting to make business deci- sions and manage people ... and I just thought I loved it,” Citino said. Citino assumed the role of city man- ager Aug. 15 in the middle of Bellaire’s budgetary season. Public hearings on the $23.7 million budget took place throughout August, and the budget will go before the council for adoption at its Sept. 19 meeting. Tittel will remain in the position until Sept. 16 to assist in the transition as the FY 2022-23 budget is nalized. “[The experience] gave me a true understanding of the di erent depart- ments and what people really go through,” Tittel said. “It allowed me to really look at everything from a 360 degree perspective.”
Getting to know Citino New Bellaire City Manager Sharon Citino is a resident of Braeswood Place and a Bellaire High
School parent.
Quotes of note
[The experience] gave me a true
understanding of the di erent departments
and what people really go through. DEACON TITTEL, FIRE CHIEF AND INTERIM CITY MANAGER THROUGH SEPT. 16
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
SOURCES: CITY OF BELLAIRE, SHARON CITINO COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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