Bellaire City Council appoints Brant Gary interim city manager effective Aug. 3

Bellaire City Council has appointed Bellaire Assistant City Manager Brant Gary as its new interim city manager.

With a vote of 5-2—with Council Members Catherine Lewis and Jim Hotze opposed—Gary has been appointed to the position and will take up the mantle effective Aug. 3, according to Bellaire Community Relations Administrator Cheryl Bright.

The vote for Gary’s appointment came after a closed meeting discussion during a July 6 council meeting; it also comes as Bellaire City Manager Paul Hofmann is slated to work his last day with the city Aug. 2 before he becomes Bastrop's city manager.

Included in Gary’s appointment was approval of a $575 stipend that will be paid to the incoming interim city manager on a biweekly basis, on top of his salary of $140,218 per year, Bright said.

The timeline and process on selecting a permanent city manager still remains unknown.

In his remarks to the public after Gary’s appointment, Mayor Andrew Friedberg referred to Bellaire’s current transitional period.

“Of course, it’s not lost on council that we are entering a transition period for the city,” Friedberg said. “And in the not-too-distant future, we’ll be discussing and considering and looking at how we want to move towards making a permanent appointment.”

Gary has worked as Bellaire assistant city manager since Dec. 2, 2019, Bright said, and has served in the past as the city’s public works director. He has also worked as assistant city manager and city administrator in other communities.