PATA History Pages

New City Manager Selected

Assistant City Manager in Centerville

Gilleland to be new city manager

Thursday, May 27, 2004

MACKENZIE FRY
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Pickerington's new city manager will be Judith Gilleland, assistant city manager of Centerville, in western Ohio.

She will fill the spot Joyce Bushman vacated when she resigned in December. Acting city manager Frank Wiseman has served in the interim.

Mayor David Shaver said Tuesday he was impressed with Gilleland's history of working with other governmental entities.

"She had a ... very good report come back from other city governments and other county governments that had worked with her about her ability to coordinate and implement joint projects," Shaver said.

He said that ability had led to "positive relationships" between Centerville and the surrounding communities.

"She had a very strong reputation as a consensus-builder," he said.

Gilleland said she plans to continue to be a concensus-builder in Pickerington. She will spend much of her first month on the job, she said, building relationships with officials in the city, township, county and schools.

Shaver said Gilleland's starting date has not yet been decided. Gilleland plans to divide her time between Centerville and Pickerington in the meantime.

"I will be on the job almost immediately, attending meetings," she said.

Gilleland was one of three finalists. The other two were Barbara Burns-Matthews, former city administrator in Manchester, Mo., and Frank Myers, current city manager of Trotwood, Ohio.

Pickerington hired Circuit Rider Management Group in Granville to coordinate the search.

A search committee representing various sectors of the community narrowed down the finalists.

The committee chose six finalists in March from a slate of 75 candidates from across the United States. Those six each spent a full day in Pickerington with city, county and township officials, department heads and staff members. The committee selected the final three at the end of April.

Shaver said he and Pickerington City Councilmen Mike Sabatino and Ted Hackworth interviewed the final three candidates.

Hackworth said he didn't give an "out and out recommendation" to Shaver, but pointed out the merits of both Gilleland and Myers. He said he was particularly impressed with Gilleland's portfolio of graphs and charts showing Centerville's financial position.

Council President Heidi Riggs and Councilman Mitch O'Brien also visited Centerville and Trotwood, the cities managed by Gilleland and Myers, respectively.

"A lot of people put (in) a lot of effort, and I think that while all the candidates were strong, everyone that was involved in the process felt very comfortable in choosing Judith," Shaver said.

Gilleland said the thorough selection process allowed her to meet many residents and officials.

"I've really been impressed by the ... desire for community members to work together," she said.

She said she figures to quickly become involved in issues such as the building moratorium.

Shaver said he does not believe Gilleland's status as a newcomer to Pickerington will hinder her in any way. Instead, Shaver said, she will offer a "fresh perspective."

"I think that'll be an advantage to her," he said.


mfry@thisweeknews.com