Clinton Bailey Promoted to Fredericksburg City Manager

San Angelo native and former City Engineer Clinton Bailey will become Fredericksburg's City Manager on May 1st.  Bailey took the Director of Public Works and Utilities position in May 2013 after putting in 18 years with the City of San Angelo.  His first promotion added Assistant City Manager responsibilities to his public works/utilities job.  It came in October 2016.  

San Angelo suffered frequent turnover in the City Engineer position since Bailey left.  Names of people holding the City Engineer position since Bailey exited include:

Karl Bednardz -- September 2013 to April 2015 (Left to work for RSandH)

Russell Pehl  -- July 2015 to May 2019  (Left to work for Centurion Planning and Design)

Lance Overstreet -- May 2019 to November 2020

Tim Wolff served at Interim City Engineer and Kevin Pate is currently in that role as the city looks for its next City Engineer.  The Engineering Department has been understaffed as well since Clinton took his leadership talents to the Hill Country.

Bailey is known for providing competent, quality city services in an ethical manner.  He recently terminated a Development Director with a personal conflict of interest regarding a policy under consideration.  

How much better would the City of San Angelo be had he stayed and been promoted here?  It's hard to know but at a minimum the Engineering Department would have attracted and retained professional engineers.  

San Angelo's Public Works Director position once required a Professional Engineering license.  That got waived for Ricky Dickson and then again for Shane Kelton.  I imagine engineers prefer to be managed and evaluated by a peer.  

The Avenue P project would have been completed as originally designed and approved in 2012, not a less robust project not yet completed.   Staff presentations to City Council would also have been more thorough and informative.  The "any rationale will do" and "minimalist nature" of staff presentations must try our local elected officials, although they do their best to hide it.

Congratulations to Clinton Bailey.  His gain has been our loss for many years.  

Update 8-29-22:  The City Engineer position remains unfilled as of today.  It has been empty since November 2020.  That's 21 months without a leader in that critical role.