Brandon Wright, city manager in DeSoto, was announced as the new town manager at the Trophy Club Town Council meeting Oct. 9. Council briefly met in executive session before reconvening and approving Wright’s contract agreement in a 6-0 vote. Council member Steve Flynn was absent from the meeting.
Wright begins the job in December. There were more than 70 applicants for the town manager position, with the candidate pool being narrowed to five finalists before council selected Wright, who will earn a salary of $229,500 annually, a news release from town of Trophy Club officials stated.
Police Chief Patrick Arata has been serving as interim town manager since March, when Wade Carroll left to become town manager for Westlake.
In their own words
“I’m excited by the opportunity to work there in Trophy Club,” Wright said Oct. 10 when reached at his office in DeSoto. “It’s a wonderful community to work in. I’m really looking forward to getting started there working with the team—the employees—the Town Council and the residents.”
He said he was intrigued by a number of aspects of working in Trophy Club: the development around Trophy Club and the area, and the sense of community and the projects that are being worked on, such as the aquatic center, and the economic development on the Hwy. 114 corridor.
“You put all those things together and it’s a really exciting opportunity,” he said.
The details
In DeSoto, Wright serves as the chief official in charge of municipal operations, working directly with the mayor and City Council on official city business, according to the Trophy Club news release. After a long stint in Davenport, Iowa, Wright started in DeSoto in March 2020. Wright served as the city’s chief financial officer/assistant city administrator in Davenport. Wright also served as the city of Davenport’s finance director from 2012-16 and budget manager from 2010-12. Before his work in Iowa, he served as a budget analyst for the city of Aurora, Illinois, from 2007-10, according to his profile from the city of DeSoto website.
Wright holds a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University and a bachelor’s in communications from Brigham Young University.
What they’re saying
"We are looking forward to Brandon joining our professional staff as he uses his knowledge and experience as a leader in municipal government to move Trophy Club forward,” Mayor Jeannette Tiffany said in the release. “His significant experience in government should prove invaluable as we continue our vision for Trophy Club."
Tiffany said during the council meeting that council worked hard to find the new town manager and used a process that was “fair and just, and reasonable.” She said council's goal from the beginning was to find the best town manager, and council accomplished that. Wright will join the council for the Oct. 23 meeting. A meet and greet will be held in January for Wright.
Tiffany praised Arata for his time as the interim town manager.
“We owe you a great deal of gratitude, appreciation and all things that come with it,” she said.
Diving in deeper
Council began searching for a town manager in May, with the goal of finding someone who would help bring change to the community who was “passionate about leadership, and possesses adaptability and innovation,” the town release stated. Town officials hired Strategic Government Resources to manage the recruitment process.
In addition, the news release stated council developed a Community and Partner Engagement Plan to gather valuable feedback from a diverse range of community members and town partners. Council wanted to find the “core qualities, skills and traits that the community and partners believed would be essential for the success” of the new town manager.
Also, council invited Trophy Club residents and staff to actively engage and participate in the process by sharing their thoughts, comments and feedback on what they consider important in this person and position, the news release stated.
