Historic Williamsburg VA seeking next City Manager · To measure success against its vision statement, “Williamsburg will become an evermore safe, beautiful, livable city of historic

Historic

Williamsburg

Invites Applicants for

City Manager

•

Imagine leading a community where 9 in 10 citizens value quality of life, overall appearance and safety at a level of good or excellent. Imagine leading a City where 85% of Citizens are satisfied with customer service delivered by the City staff and truly value the natural environment.1 Imagine yourself as the City of Williamsburg’s next City Manager, a historic urban environment where year-round tourism creates opportunities, and Town and Gown relationships are essential. If you have the passion and skills to take a City that is well thought of by its Citizens to the next level of effective governance and service delivery, this could be your next career move.

About the Community: Founded in 1699, Williamsburg is an

independent city in Virginia with a rich and storied history in our Nation’s governance. With nearly 15K year-round residents, the population of Williamsburg includes the 8,200 students of The College of William and Mary and serves over one-half million tourist visitors per year. Colonial Williamsburg, the restored Historic Area of the city, drives the city’s tourism-based economy. Residents are encouraged to participate in public life to discover the right balance between core values, and civil protests are not discouraged. In addition, the City is committed to promoting numerous festivals and special events throughout the year, many of which are free of charge and attract thousands of attendees.

Williamsburg is recognized by residents and visitors from around the world as a picturesque community with beautiful historic homes and buildings connected by attractive greenspaces. Unique retail options, excellent restaurants, beautiful golf courses, outstanding public schools, strong employment, robust critical thinking, innovation and accessibility to larger urban communities draw people to live and play here. Located on the Virginia Peninsula and bordered by the counties of James City and York, Williamsburg consists of nine square miles in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. Located along I-64 with easy access to Richmond, Washington DC and the coast, Williamsburg has the benefit of small town feel with access to big City amenities.

Williamsburg Demographics: The

City’s 2017 population is 15,031 (US

Census) and the Hampton Roads

region’s population is over 1.7M. The

City’s racial composition includes 73.8%

White, 15.9% African American, 7.9%

Latino, 6.5% Asian, Two or more races,

3.3%, and 0.4% American Indian.

Economic Profile: According to the

U.S. Census Bureau, the 2016 average

income for Williamsburg and James

City County combined was $59,632,

and the percentage of persons below

the poverty level was 21.1%. Rental

housing predominates with

approximately 53.4% of single and

multifamily units rented, and 46.6%

owner occupied. The current

unemployment rate in the City is 4.5%,

slightly higher than the Virginia rate of

3.4%.

1http://www.williamsburgva.gov/government/departments-a-h/city-manager-s-office/national-citizen-survey-

results

• About the City and Position: Williamsburg is a full-

service city with 201.5 FTE employees working in 19 departments.

including Police, Fire, Emergency Preparedness, Economic Development, Public Works and Utilities, Planning, Codes Compliance, Housing and Human Services, Parks and Recreation, Real Estate Assessment, as well as administrative departments such as Finance, Purchasing, Human Resources, and Information Technology Services. The City shares some

Constitutional Officers with James City County such as Treasurer, Sheriff, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Commonwealth’s Attorney. The City Manager is appointed by and reports to a five-member City Council. City Council members are elected at large and serve four-year, staggered terms.

With a Standard & Poor bond rating of “AAA” and Moody bond rating of “Aa1,” the City is well-managed fiscally. The City Manager will oversee the FY 2019 general operating fund budget of $36.4 million and capital improvement budget of $7.4M. The FY 2019 real estate property tax rate of $.60/$100, and the personal property tax rate of $3.50/$100 are relatively low by state standards.

Major Employers: The Colonial

Williamsburg Foundation is the City’s

largest taxpayer. The Foundation owns

23.8% of the City’s land area and

employs a staff of approximately

2,700. In addition, the public research

university of The College of William

and Mary is a major economic

contributor in the City, employing

approximately 3,250 full and part time

faculty and staff, enrolling 8,200

students and owning about 19.4% of

the City’s land area. Sodexo, The City

of Williamsburg, Williamsburg-James

County Schools and the National

Center for State Courts round out the

City’s major employers.

• To measure success against its vision statement, “Williamsburg will become an evermore safe, beautiful, livable city of historic and academic renown, served by a city government -- cohesively led, financially strong, always improving -- in full partnership with the people who live, work and visit here," the city uses a robust, strategic planning process that establishes biennial goals that guide budget development and decision making. See http://www.williamsburgva.gov/home/showdocument?id=20171 for more details. The new City Manager must maintain and enhance the quality of life admired and desired by Citizens while driving economic diversity, enhancing excellent local and regional partnerships, proactively planning and managing infrastructure investment, maintaining safety, and encouraging citizen engagement. A track record of innovation in delivering on strategic initiatives as well as increasing collaborations, effective governance and service delivery is essential. To learn more about the City, please visit http://www.williamsburgva.gov/.

Qualifications: • a master’s degree in business, public administration or related field is

preferred with a bachelor’s degree;

• seven to ten years of experience as a senior executive in a full-service local government, at least five of which must have been as a Town/City Manager or Deputy, in an environment comparable to the City of Williamsburg, with a wide range of duties across various departments;

• ICMA Credentialed Manager or eligibility to become credentialed within a negotiated timeframe. Professional association leadership desired;

• experience in working in a diverse and historic urban environment with a strong tourism and university influence; and,

• past experience and a high level of interest and successful achievement in areas that include working effectively with a team, economic and community development, and working on special projects.

The Successful Candidate has a strong leadership portfolio and is skilled in:

• delivering open and transparent government

by proactively seeking opportunities to

communicate in multiple forums, encourage

citizen input, and publicize decisions;

• confidently communicating City positions and

goals to different stakeholder groups such as

Williamsburg -James City County Schools,

Colonial Williamsburg, The College of William

and Mary, as well as other local, regional and

State partners, while simultaneously listening

and seeking win-win solutions;

• seeking economic diversity that respects the

traditional focus of historical tourism while

supporting opportunities to expand this focus

and encourages the growth of other business

initiatives;

• empowering department heads to exercise

their expertise without undue oversight; while

advocating for professional development to

ensure effective mentoring, coaching, training,

and succession planning;

• master planning facilitation and complex CIP

project development and management;

• developing and managing general and capital

budgets, diversifying funding distribution while

finding creative ways to increase revenue,

managing expenses, and leveraging existing

funds for new and necessary initiatives that

may arise;

• assertively building consensus and

constructively working with an engaged

Council and staff to carry out City initiatives;

• application of performance measures to

ensure accountability and to continuously

monitor and engage in process improvement

in a service-driven organization; and,

• excellent verbal and written communication with

well-developed interpersonal skills and abilities.

Salary and Application Process: The City of

Williamsburg is offering a competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience with a minimum starting salary of $140K. The City also has an outstanding benefits package, with low employee contributions for health, dental, participation in the Virginia Retirement System, group life insurance, short and long-term disability insurance plans, 457 Plan, and paid time off, among others. Residency within the City is required. To apply, please go to https://www.developmentalassociates.com/client-openings/client-positions/ and then the City Manager – Williamsburg, VA link. All applications must be submitted online. All inquiries should be emailed to [email protected]. We encourage applicants to apply by September 21, 2018. On-site interviews and skill evaluations will be held October 25-26, 2018 in Williamsburg, VA for selected finalists. The City of Williamsburg is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The recruitment and selection process is being managed by Developmental Associates, LLC.

How are we doing: The recent citizen

survey specifically asked Citizens how

the City was doing in meeting its vision

and goals. The results reflect success

in many areas (e.g. appearance and

safety) and opportunities for continued

improvement in others (e.g. innovation

and collaboration with residents).

The 2019-2020 Biennial Goals,

Initiatives and Outcomes (GIOs)

process is underway and the 2017-

2018 GIO used eight (8) established

goal areas as a guideline for budget

decisions. For more information, visit:

http://www.williamsburgva.gov/home/sh

owdocument?id=12773. For Fiscal

Years 2017 and 2018 the goals are as

follows:

1. Character of the City

2. Economic Vitality

3. Transportation

4. Public Safety

5. Human Services and Education

6. Recreation and Culture

7. Environmental Sustainability

8. Citizen Engagement and City

Governance