Click photo to enlarge
Garza
Related
Editor's Note: The success of any community largely depends on the people who live there. In Doña Ana County, we are fortunate to have countless individuals who have contributed their time and effort to make this area a better place to live. Today the Sun-News continues a five-part series profiling 10 people who are expected to make an impact on our lives in 2011. Through Friday, two of their stories will be published each day. There are so many who deserve the same recognition; however, these particular individuals have a solid track record of achievement and contribution, something we expect they will build on in 2011.

LAS CRUCES - Changes are promised by new City Manager Robert Garza, but another pledge is that those will be seamless and mostly unnoticed by the public.

"The biggest change will be for me and the administration at City Hall," Garza said. "But I don't see them as big changes for the community as a whole."

Garza became the top administrator of city government Monday, and has "hit the ground running." Garza admitted there will be a lot of challenges in the days to come. He will have to replace several key administrative positions, and has some ideas about how to proceed.

A new city attorney will have to be hired during the coming year. Fermin Rubio retired last February and his position has remained unfilled since then. Harry "Pete" Connelly, a longtime assistant city attorney, has been serving as interim city attorney.

Garza

Advertisement
is also considering a restructuring of city administration and is leaning toward having two deputy city managers, one who will be responsible for internal affairs and the other who would focus on community issues.

"One of those would essentially be a chief operating officer, much like the position I've held as assistant city manager," Garza said. "That person would report to me directly on issues affecting the Community Development Department, Public Works, Public Safety and Facilities. The other assistant would be responsible for the business side of city government and would interact directly with departments like Finance, Public Information and Information Technology. The goal is to facilitate this evolution by not adding any new bodies and no increases in the budget."

To accomplish that, Garza said the city's finance director position, which has been vacant since Mark Sutter retired in early August, may be consolidated into one of the deputy city manager positions. The other vacant position is Garza's former spot as assistant city manager.

Job descriptions will have to be written and a national search will likely be conducted. But Garza said he isn't ruling out the possibility of promoting from within city government. Former City Manager Terrence Moore had a practice of promoting from within.

"Under the existing structure of city administration, Terrence would have as many as 20 people answering directly to him," Garza said. "That can be an awful lot. Terrence and I have differing managerial styles, to some extent, and I believe a restructured form of administration could work just as well."

Garza, a Las Cruces native, said he will still stress public responsiveness from city administration, and would like to take it one step further.

"I'd like to be able to establish a city manager's open house, where people can sit down with me and ask any questions they have of city government," Garza said. "I've enjoyed experiences like that in the past where I've been able to do that, and I feel like I'm knowledgeable enough to be able to answer most questions. Even if I don't know the answer, at least a resident will be able to hear that from me and we'll then work together to get an answer."

Garza, who has about 25 years of experience with the city and has worked his way through the ranks, was promoted Dec. 13. The seven-member City Council unanimously approved his promotion, largely based on Garza's familiarity with the city and its issues, and his continued professional competence in city government.

"We couldn't have found anyone more qualified from the outside," said Las Crucen Phillip Archuleta. "I like what he has to say, and I'm convinced that he can be a good, effective leader."

Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452

Robert Garza

• Job: Las Cruces city manager

• Impact: The top administrator of city government, who oversees a budget of $314 million during the city's 2011 fiscal year and more than 1,400 employees.