MATTIS

by BRAD ROLLINS

Former Kyle City Manager Tom Mattis is seeking to become the top administrator just down the interstate in the city of San Marcos, where the city manager was fired last month.

Mattis, who is credited with guiding Kyle through eight years of unprecedented residential and commercial growth but got crossways with a new mayor and city council, resigned under pressure in April. The San Marcos City Council terminated former manager Rick Menchaca’s employment in June.

“I am uniquely positioned at this particular point in time (maybe more so than any other candidate) to offer San Marcos a rare package as its new city manager – combining a strong familiarity with the city and solid professional background with a fresh perspective new to the operation,” Mattis wrote San Marcos council members in a July 20 letter obtained by the Hays Free Press.

He continued, “My track record of success as the city manager in Kyle over the last eight years is very evident and obvious to both government officials and citizens. There would be no mystery or lack of familiarity as to my past achievements or management style.”

Forgoing a costly and time-consuming search and application process for a new city manager would allow Mattis to “hit the ground running,” he wrote, and make use of his existing network of business and political leaders in the region. An executive search would take at least six to eight months and he expects to be employed by then, Mattis wrote.

“There would be a quick and seamless transition to my administration given my knowledge of the community and city operations in general, as I am very familiar with many staff members and local government officials…. Basically, San Marcos has nothing to lose and everything to gain in at least considering me for the city manager position at this time. This is a unique point in time and opportunity for both the city and I – and it would seem obvious that there should be some meaningful conversation about the possibilities of this scenario before we both move on to something else,” he wrote.

In the months since his departure from Kyle, Mattis has periodically surfaced as an applicant for various government executive positions.

In May, he was named in news reports as an applicant for the chief administrative position in Lake County, Fla., a county of about a quarter-million people near Orlando. That entity has not yet named someone to the position. Earlier this month, the city of Harlingen, a municipality with an estimated 2009 population of 74,950, named Mattis one of eight finalists for its city manager position.