Q: You’ve been Anderson’s acting city manager since Scott Morgan left, and before that you were the city’s assistant city manager. As of September 1, what changed for you – even internally – when it became official that you were Anderson’s city manager?
Scott had hoped and planned for me to replace him as City Manager for quite some time, so he gave me opportunities and projects over the years that helped me gain the experience I needed for the position. It was a natural progression and I don’t think anyone was surprised by the notion that I might be the next City Manager. However, the selection of a new City Manager is the City Council’s choice, not Scott’s, and until they evaluated their options and made their decision, some uncertainty remained. The final announcement allows me and city staff to put the uncertainty behind us and move on to the projects we need to tackle.
Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself – where you grew up, what led you to this position?
My family moved around some when I was a kid, and I grew up in several towns in Northern and Southern California. I graduated from Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs. My husband, Paul, and I married in 1993 when we lived in Grass Valley. In 1997, Paul got a job as a reporter for the Record Searchlight, so we moved to Shasta County and I was hired by the City of Anderson as Finance Director.
In 1999, Paul accepted another position that required us to move to Ventura, and I got a job as Administrative Services Director for the City of Moorpark. Our jobs were good and we are glad moved, but we quickly figured out that we weren’t going to stay in Southern California – we really didn’t fit into the culture and didn’t like the congestion. When we were ready to move on, I let several former co-workers and bosses know that we were looking to return to northern California, and Scott Morgan recruited me back as Assistant City Manager in 2002.
Q: What did you want to be when you were a kid? Was city manager on your radar?
Oh, I had no idea what a “city manager” was! While city manager wasn’t necessarily top on my list, it really isn’t surprising that’s where I am. I come from several generations of public servants – police officers, school teachers, utility workers – so I understood the value of public service very young and never gave much thought to a private sector career. I was always good at math, my undergraduate degree is in accounting, and my early career was primarily in finance and budget management. This background in finance is essential for success as a city manager. Also, I’m an only child, so I’m kinda bossy and used to getting my way! I guess that helps, too.
Q: What do you see as Anderson’s greatest assets and most immediate challenges?
I believe that one of the reasons why Anderson has been so successful in the last few years at attracting development and funding important infrastructure improvements is because the city, as a government organization, has remained lean and nimble. We haven’t become overburdened with excessive bureaucracy, and can respond quickly to developers when they walk in the door and grant opportunities when they arrive in our inbox. It has been very hard on staff to be spread so thin, especially now with vacancies that we can’t afford to fill. But we have a great group of employees who work very hard and focus on getting the job done. The challenge will be, in the coming years as Anderson grows, to keep that sense of responsiveness and creativity in the organization and not let it become stagnant and uncaring.
Q: When you travel beyond the north state, how do you describe Anderson?
I describe it as a small community with endless opportunity. Anderson has so much – a tremendous park system, lots of housing options, a growing industrial base for jobs, well-maintained streets and utility infrastructure, balanced commercial opportunities, and good schools. As I travel around the state, I see so many cities of similar size that may have some of those features, but few are that so well balanced and poised for a healthy future.
Q: I grew up in Redding at a time when places like Anderson and Central Valley – as it was known then – were treated like red-headed stepchildren. What do you say about that now?
Well, there’s still some of that attitude out there, primarily among people who don’t spend any time in Anderson. Frankly, I don’t pay much attention to it. I’m far more interested in hearing from the people who actually live and do business in Anderson – what do they think? Are they proud of their town? Do they like living and working here? Are they happy with the improvements made in the last several years? More and more frequently we hear from residents and business owners who have chosen to move to Anderson from other cities in the County. I think that speaks for itself.
Q: I drive down Highway 273 and see Anderson’s improvements, even from the highway. Can you talk a bit about Anderson’s downtown area, and what else you’d like to see there?
Having a highway run through downtown presents challenges, but it also gives us the opportunity to have thousands of motorists each day see what a great place it is. About six months ago we removed the tall row of oleanders that blocked the view and the impact has been tremendous – I get many comments just like yours about how nice it is to see what’s going on downtown.
The City Council has made downtown revitalization a priority for several years, and the improvements you see downtown are the result. We’ve built the new Teen Center/Shasta County Public Health building and seen private investment as well, with the commercial development on the corner of South and East Center Streets. We’ve installed landscaping, street lighting, parking, drainage improvements, and much more. Property owners downtown are investing in their businesses again. We have a new mixed-use zoning code downtown, and we’d like to see a healthy mix of residential, retail and professional services. The City Council would like downtown to be a vibrant part of the local economy and a community focal point.
Q: Are there misconceptions about Anderson you’d like to address?
I do get frustrated with the “it’s good enough for Anderson” mentality that occasionally pops up. Anderson is a proud town with lots of great qualities and there’s no reason why its residents should settle for anything less than feeling safe in their neighborhoods, quality residential and commercial development, great parks to recreate in, and a professional local government. Consistent with City Council direction, one of my missions over the past few years has been to raise the bar a little and deliver projects and programs of high quality, not just “good enough.”
Q: What’s the most unpleasant part about being city manager?
Having to say no sometimes when you’d really rather say yes. It’s particularly frustrating right now with the fiscal challenges we are facing. The City Council has done a great job of keeping the city in good fiscal condition – we have prudent reserves in place and have prepared for the revenue reductions we are facing. But in order to stay fiscally healthy, we have had to leave some vacant positions unfunded and haven’t given any cost-of-living raises this year, which is hard on the employees. Plus, there are programs and services the City Council would like to enhance. I’m a very driven person who likes to see things continually moving and evolving to better serve the citizens, and it’s hard for me to advise the City Council that we don’t have the funds to move forward on a valuable program or project.
Q: What are your top priorities as city manager?
The City Council has established a list of 12 priority projects and programs in the coming two years. For example, continuing our efforts on downtown revitalization is a top priority, along with improvements to recreational facilities, water system infrastructure and transit services. I’ll certainly be focusing my efforts on those priorities. In addition, difficult economic times like we face now provide great opportunities for bidding and construction. We have been gathering all the grant funds we can find and getting projects out to bid as fast as we can. We are not only getting good bid prices and saving tax payer dollars, but helping to create construction jobs and improving our infrastructure so we can ready when private development picks up again. Right now we have six projects in various stages of construction, one out to bid, four that are funded and finishing up engineering, and eight designed but in need of funding. In the coming year, my priority will be to keep the Public Works department very busy and find money to move these projects along.
Q: Looking ahead to the day when your career as city manager is behind you, at the end of the day, how will you measure a job well done?
When I retire I’ll want to be sure that the community is happier with their quality of life than when I started. Did I accomplish the goals set forth by the City Council? Did I implement projects and programs that made a positive difference in the community? Is the community generally happy with the direction their town is headed? Have city staff members met the needs of their customers? Also, I’d like to retire knowing that I’ve left the city government in good shape for the next guy, and not left behind a bunch of unresolved issues.
Q: What do you do for fun and relaxation when you’re not at work?
Oh, typical stuff like gardening and baking and hiking. My husband and I are both so busy and work such long hours, that these days our favorite thing is when the two of us (we don’t have children) can sneak away for the weekend. Portland. Calistoga. Boonville. Ashland. We’ve got lots of favorite places to visit.
For more information about the city of Anderson, click here to vist its website. To contact Dana Shigley click here.
