Grayson Path (left) and Matt Allen (right)/Photos by Noah Dawson
Members of the public had their first chance to meet the finalists in the search for the next Amarillo City Manager on Monday evening. Next, Amarillo City Council will meet on Wednesday to discuss what comes next.
Speaking with The Amarillo Pioneer, Grayson Path, one of the two finalists and current City Manager of Paris, Texas, said that one of the biggest challenges he has recently faced in Paris was building a new wastewater treatment plant to replace outdated infrastructure. “When I arrived there, we had a World War II-era facility that had been neglected for many, many years,” said Path. “We’ve got a new plant being built as we speak., it’s about a $120 million project.”
Path also spoke about his philosophy on tax rates. Notably, during the most recent City of Paris budget, Path argued a 3.5% increase from the no-new-revenue maintenance & operations rate, the maximum allowed without requiring a ratification election. “What we were facing in Paris, in their situation, we did a lot of cutting. We did a lot of moving around in order to find funds to focus on priorities. At the end of the day, we had to raise the tax a little bit,” said Path. “But, every community is different. Some communities have a good sales tax or you have good franchise fees. We didn’t have that in Paris in order to meet the needs of the community.”
Matthew Allen, the other finalist and current City Manager of Garden City, Kansas, told The Amarillo Pioneer that the biggest issue faced by his city recently was housing development. “We have an immediate demand for 3,000 units,” said Allen. “We’ve been working with developers, contractors, and property owners to try to crack that code. There’s huge growth in our community right now, so that’s unquestionably the biggest challenge.”
Allen also discussed the potential challenges of moving from a city governed by Kansas state law fo Texas state law and making that adjustment. “Any time you move from one state to another, in local government, you have to develop a good understanding of the laws,” said Allen. “But, a community like Amarillo has resources and staff that have worked for the community for years. That’s a learning curve, but it’s not an intimidating learning curve.”
All members of the current City Council attended the meet and greet with the exception of Josh Craft. Also present were Eddy Sauer and Howard Smith, two former members of Amarillo City Council.
During the meeting, members of the public were encouraged to fill out a survey reflecting on their opinions of the candidates. Residents were asked to rank the two on “community engagement,” “communication skills,” “knowledge, skills, and abilities,” and “leadership and vision.”
Amarillo City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, June 5th at City Hall to discuss the meet and greet, including survey responses. According to an agenda posted by the city, the city manager search is the only item on the agenda. The council may convene in executive session for part of the meeting, but the meeting will be otherwise open to the public. The council is not expected to make a final decision during the special meeting, as no action items are on the agenda. The full agenda for the special meeting, which will begin at noon, can be found at this link.
You can read our profile of the two finalists at this link.