Officials announced four finalists for the position July 23 after Strategic Government Resources, a municipal recruiting firm, conducted a three-month national search. The finalists include:
- Aretha Resu Ferrell-Benavides
- Theo Melancon
- Jared Miller
- Wayne Reed
Residents will have the opportunity to meet each candidate during a meet-and-greet event 6-7:30 p.m. July 29 in the Elgin City Council chambers at 404 N. Main St. Council will conduct final interviews during an executive session at 8 a.m. July 30 at the Elgin Police Department, 204 Depot St., Elgin.
In a news release, Elgin Mayor Theresa McShan emphasized that she is confident the city will be in good hands moving forward.
“Each of these four candidates has a wealth of experience and expertise to share with us, and we are pleased that they are all interested in sharing their knowledge and experience with our community,” she said in the release. “I know I speak for my fellow council members when I say that we are all looking forward to hearing their impressions of Elgin.”
In Elgin, the city manager has an extensive list of responsibilities, including:
- Coordinating official City Council business
- Providing leadership
- Implementing City Council priorities
- Managing city staff
- Overseeing the delivery of city services
- Providing management support
Ferrell-Benavides, who has more than 30 years of service in the public sector, currently serves as the city manager for the city of Martinsville.
“My career reflects a deep commitment to fiscal stewardship, strategic planning, economic development and authentic community engagement—core priorities for any thriving local government,” she said in her cover letter to SGR. “I bring a flexible leadership approach, grounded in situational awareness, able to align with both council-manager and strong mayor-council forms of government, and always centered on empowering teams and engaging residents meaningfully.”
Melancon, who has more than 10 years of public sector leadership, most recently served as the city manager of Dickinson, and emphasized how his leadership style is collaborative and focused on results.
“I have overseen high-performing teams across public safety, public works, planning and economic development-ensuring that core services scale effectively while maintaining fiscal discipline,” he said in his cover letter to SGR. “I am particularly proud of my work bringing clarity and cohesion to citywide budgeting processes and building broad coalitions to advance public priorities.”
Miller currently serves as the chief operations officer with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, but also has experience as a city manager in the cities of Amarillo, San Marcos, Snyder and Crosbyton.
“I am familiar with the fluid and varied demands placed on the municipal management function,” he said in his cover letter to SGR. “I am team-oriented, always composed and believe that quality dialogue will yield workable solutions to most community or organizational issues.”
Reed, who has more than 27 years of experience in the public sector, currently serves as the city manager of Cibolo.
“I am interested in Elgin because of its desire to make investments to improve the quality of life, emphasis on economic development, focus on capital improvement programming, commitment to fiscal responsibility, and aim to foster community engagement,” he said in his cover letter to SGR. “I am confident that my experience, integrity, skills and leadership make me uniquely qualified to inspire others about Elgin's purpose and execute on its goals.”
Also of note
Elgin City Council hired Isaac Turner on Jan. 7 to serve as interim city manager, as previously reported by Community Impact.
“We appreciate him sharing his experience and insight with us,” McShan said.
