Denton officials have made public more details about the salaries and job descriptions of the four assistant city managers and reorganization announced Aug. 31.
The reorganization following the retirement of Assistant City Manager Fred Greene meant raises for three of the four men now serving as assistant city managers. Jon Fortune, who now oversees police, fire, transportation, aviation and solid waste, received about a 2.5 percent raise, to $157,109 annually. Bryan Langley — now over finance, administrative services, the library, human resources and technology services — received about a 7.6 percent raise, to $160,370. John Cabrales received a 34.6 percent raise, to $130,000. He will oversee the public information office, intergovernmental relations, planning and development, parks and recreation, and economic development.
In an Aug. 31 memo, obtained by the Denton Record-Chronicle on Friday, City Manager George Campbell told employees that the reorganization will help meet the goals established by the City Council and the staff during strategic planning.
Campbell said in an interview Friday that with Greene’s retirement, and the departure of some department heads, it was a good time to make the change, and he was excited about it.
Denton is more complex than many cities, Campbell said, in part because it provides all the utilities that serve the city. But the City Council had goals to make that complex organization more responsive to the needs of residents and businesses. The reorganization should better align departments that tend to work together to serve the city, he said, “so the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.”
He said both Langley and Cabrales are “incredibly talented” employees, and Cabrales, in particular, has a long history with the city that should help its management.
“He has a good sense of the city, what the city needs to be responsive,” Campbell said.
The addition of a city manager also means another full-time position was added in the city manager’s office, said Langley, one of the new assistant city managers as well as Denton’s chief financial officer.
In other words, both the position left vacant when Langley was promoted — finance director — and the public information officer position left vacant with Cabrales’ promotion will be filled, Langley said.
The change will be reflected in the final budget given to the City Council on Tuesday but with the same level of personnel funding, Langley said.
“The total budget is not changing,” Langley said.
The city manager’s office oversees not only general services but also the city’s utilities and capital improvements at a cost of about $2.2 million per year. Fourteen people work in the office, including the city secretary, the public information officer and other executive assistants.
Some of that budget includes travel and training expenses for administrative employees and the City Council, Langley said.
Howard Martin, assistant city manager over utilities and environmental services, did not receive a raise. He is currently paid $162,775.
Denton has more assistant city managers when compared to its partners in the Texas Municipal Power Association. Garland (population 231,000) has a deputy city manager and an assistant city manager, who makes $173,000, according to city spokeswoman Dorothy White. Bryan (population 77,000) has two deputy city managers, one for community services and one for support services. The average salaries for those employees were not immediately available Friday.
The fourth partner, Greenville, is much smaller, with a population of just over 26,000. This year, the city opted not to fill the post when its city manager left as a budget-savings measure, said Lori Philyaw, city spokeswoman.
PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com.
