Citino previously worked as the water planning director in the Houston Public Works Department beginning in 2018.
“When this opportunity came up I thought ‘Wow, I have to put my hat in the ring’,” she said. “I had to see if this [was] something that I had a chance to do. I love the idea of being able to serve as a city manager.”
Bellaire has been without its official chief administrator since August 2020 when then-City Manager Paul Hofmann resigned. Since Hofmann’s departure, the city has cycled through two interim managers: former Assistant City Manager Brant Gary, who filled the role from July 2020 through December 2021; and Fire Chief Deacon Tittel, who took the reins Dec. 6, 2021.
With Citino now on board, council members said they expect her to make immediate contributions in helping the city pass its budget for fiscal year 2022-23.
Her expertise with water-related issues will also come in handy, Mayor Andrew Friedberg said. The city is working on the final touches of a master drainage concept plan to reduce flooding in the city, which could be released by the end of 2022.
“Sharon is the right person at the right time for this [city] with her leadership style and her personality,” Friedberg said. “We have a lot of confidence that she’s the right person to come in and reinvigorate things, be supportive of the staff that she leads and be a fresh start for the staff organization.”
Two-year vacancy
The search for a new full-time city manager included a series of exercises to get council members on the same page with what they were looking for, Council Member Nathan Wesley said. Those exercises took place throughout most of 2021 and continued when three new council members—Ross Gordon, Winfred Frazier and Brian Witt—were sworn into their positions in January following local elections last November.
The search process officially began in February as the new council members settled into their positions and government consulting firm CPS HR Consulting was brought on board to conduct a nationwide search.
Wesley said it was important to accommodate the newly elected council members into the process.
“Because terms were ending [in 2021], it was appropriate to let the next council handle it,” he said.
Disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to the city’s decision to leave the search on the back burner, Wesley said.
“If there was ever a time when that kind of long-range planning could be put on hold, that was it,” Wesley said.
The city manager was not the only position left unfilled: In the last year, Bellaire has had to work around 17 vacant positions, or nearly 10% of the city’s workforce, Wesley said. Community development and public works were the hardest hit by staff shortages with key positions being left for city employees to fill in the gaps, Wesley said.
Moving forward
Appointed directly by council, the city manager is the chief administrative officer who provides day-to-day oversight of municipal departments and has greater autonomy than the mayor.
A resident of Braeswood Place and a Bellaire High School parent, Citino is familiar with the community and the issues it faces, Friedberg said.
“Sharon’s established relationships with other entities in our area and her familiarity with and understanding of our shared regional challenges will undoubtedly be of benefit to Bellaire moving forward,” he said in a statement following her hiring.
Prior to her appointment as city manager, Citino worked in local government for 20 years, serving as assistant city attorney of Loveland, Colorado, for 13 years and seven years with the city of Houston, including three years as senior assistant attorney and four years as water planning director for the city’s public works department.
As planning director, Citino was in charge of a team of 119 employees and administered an annual budget of $15.4 million.
“It was a really great experience to move from the legal side and advising to getting to make business decisions and manage people ... and I just thought I loved it,” Citino said.
Citino assumed the role of city manager Aug. 15 in the middle of Bellaire’s budgetary season. Public hearings on the $23.7 million budget took place throughout August, and the budget will go before the council for adoption at its Sept. 19 meeting.
Tittel will remain in the position until Sept. 16 to assist in the transition as the FY 2022-23 budget is finalized.
“[The experience] gave me a true understanding of the different departments and what people really go through,” Tittel said. “It allowed me to really look at everything from a 360 degree perspective.”
