Following a competitive eight-month recruitment process, veteran public administrator Anthony Snipes, who has extensive experience managing municipal projects nationwide, has been unanimously appointed by Missouri City Councilmembers to be the Show Me City’s seventh City Manager.
At its November 16th regular meeting, the Missouri City Council unanimously voted, 7-0, to appoint Snipes, whose public service career spans more than 20 years and includes successes in strategic initiatives involving budgeting and performance management, public/private partnerships and organizational development.
The City Manager searches were conducted by Strategic Government Resources; the firm coordinated a national recruitment to find a replacement for former City Manager Edward Broussard, who departed in February to take the helm in Tyler, Texas.
“Anthony is a great choice for the position, and City Council is excited he accepted the invitation to continue our strong legacy of leadership,” said Mayor Allen Owen. “We look forward to him working with our great team of managers and employees to continue making Missouri City one of the top 50 places to live in the country. The community and the organization will benefit from his broad professional background, leadership and experience.”
Snipes, who was working as a Fund Development and Government Relations consultant in Austin before accepting the position, is “looking forward to working with the City’s exceptionally talented team of professionals and partnering with them to achieve the City’s strategic goals.”
Snipes, who will relocate to Missouri City with his wife and two children, will officially start his new role on December 1st and will earn a salary of $185,000.
Snipes emphasized that he is impressed with Missouri City’s proactive policies, safe streets, fiscal fitness, first-class amenities, diverse community and exemplary employees.
“Missouri City is one of the nation’s most progressive and most diverse communities,” said Snipes. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve the citizens here.”
Before being appointed to this role, Snipes was an administrator in different capacities for the cities of Fort Worth; Austin; and Dayton, Ohio. In all three cities, he implemented proactive programs and led innovative initiatives that set a standard for excellence.
During his tenure in Fort Worth, Snipes served as Assistant Director of the Water Department’s Business Services Division, as Interim Director of Human Resources, as Assistant to the City Manager, and as Senior Assistant to the City Manager. As Assistant City Manager in Austin, his primary areas of oversight included the Austin Convention Center, Fleet Services, Building Services, Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs, Management Services, Communications and Technology Management, Human Resources, and Labor Relations. In Dayton, his roles included Special Projects Administrator/Fiscal Administrator and Senior Management and Budget Analyst.
Adding to his experience, Snipes also served with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Macon-Bibb County Economic Opportunity Council, Inc., Florida State Legislature, Florida State University and the City of Tallahassee.
While in Austin, Snipes faced public criticism in connection with a training session in which a consultant made inappropriate comments.
In the interview phase of the City Manager search, Missouri City Councilmembers discussed the issue at-length with Snipes, as he was the event organizer.
He shared that “unfortunately, the seminar speakers made unanticipated, offensive comments. Following the training, which I did not attend other than a brief introduction, I made it clear that I did not endorse any of the comments and clarified that none of the comments were discussed with me prior to the training. Since that time, the speaker has confirmed the fact that I was not privy to his statements prior to the time they were made.”
Snipes went on to explain that “to avoid the undesirable perceptions being credited to the City of Austin, I took responsibility for inviting the speaker and chose to resign my position as Assistant City Manager.”
After evaluating his responses, all seven of Missouri City’s elected officials determined that Snipes was “highly-qualified” and “capable of leading” the city of Missouri City.
Snipes, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from Mercer University and a master’s degree in public administration from Florida State University, becomes only the seventh chief administrative officer to serve Missouri City in the past 40 years. He will oversee 338 employees and a combined annual budget of more than $105 million.