Brookings Banter

Tuesday night the City Council named Jeff Weldon as Brookings new City Manager.  Jeff was the City Manager at Yankton and had recently came to a severance agreement with the Yankton City Commission.  Following that decision a successful effort was launched to force a recall election of the Mayor and one other Commission Member.

Some in community may question choosing Jeff as our city manager since there is controversy surrounding his time as City Manager of Yankton.  Here are several reasons why I ignored the issues in Yankton.

• All city manager searches will have candidate that are not employed or are leaving their current position because of political situations.  I have said it before, the City Manager - City Council relationship is fragile.  A couple of decisions that a few on the Council don't like and an issue based election can cause problems for a City Manager.  Working for a group of people is tough and you must give candidates the benefit of the doubt and take a serious look at them for your position.
• Jeff's qualifications were recognized by the selection committee before anyone new of the issues in Yankton.
• Jeff handled communicating his departure from the Yankton properly and with class.
• I thought he handle the separation with class and respect to the position of the city manager.
• Everyone I spoke to who had contact with Jeff supported him as a good city manager.  During both selection processes I have been through as a council member, community members have contacted us with negative comments about their current city manager as a candidate for our city.  There were no negative comments about Jeff from the Yankton or Red Wood Falls community at large and I talked to more people about Jeff then any other candidate.
• He is qualified to be the City Manager of Brookings and was the best candidate for Brookings at this time. 

Press Release from Tuesday night's action.

City of Brookings Names Jeffrey Weldon as New City Manager

The Brookings City Council has officially chosen Jeffrey Weldon, from Yankton, SD, as their new City Manager. Mr. Weldon was hired to replace Dennis Falken, current City Manager, who decided not to continue employment beyond his current one year contract with the City. Jeffrey Weldon was chosen as the new City Manager from a field of three finalists. The other two City Manager finalists who interviewed for the position on November 6, 2007 were Michael Nolan, Norfolk, NE and Greg Sund, Dickinson, ND. Jeffrey Weldon’s first day with the City of Brookings will be mid December.

Jeffrey has over 18 years of experience in local government. His most recent position was as City Manager of Yankton, SD from 2005-2007; City Administrator for the City of Redwood Falls, MN from 1993-2005; and Assistant City Administrator of Apple Valley, MN from 1990-2003.

Jeffrey has served in communities that have experienced the same challenges in terms of revenue enhancement for the long-term, meeting on-going demands for capital infrastructure improvements, and maintaining basic city services in an environment that accomplishes goals through building partnerships. Jeffrey has had extensive previous experience in many municipal operations to include, but not limited to, airport, public safety, public works, golf course, liquor store, solid waste collection/transfer station, etc. Jeffrey has also worked with housing, commercial (re)development, annexation, infrastructure management, regional economic development commissions, and citizen advisory commissions to include a quasi-independent municipal hospital.

“Jeff’s past experience coupled with his leadership style equips him well to work along side other community leaders as we build a strong future for the Brookings’ region in the decades to come. The City Council interviewed three excellent candidates, but Mr. Weldon is the ‘right fit’ for our community at this point in time”, says Mayor Scott Munsterman.

Jeffrey’s management style is one of participative leadership using and developing the skills, abilities, and expertise of staff to accomplish the City Council’s directives with efficiency and effectiveness. Team management and constant two-way communication with staff is a cornerstone of Jeff’s leadership philosophy as well as his approach to working with elected officials. Jeffrey strongly believes in community participation in decision-making and developing mechanisms for efficient responsiveness of community services.

Jeffrey has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Moorhead State University, Moorhead, MN and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Hamline University, St. Paul, MN. Jeffrey is a current member of the International City/County Management Association and South Dakota City/County Management Association.

Jeffrey and his wife Tracy currently live in Yankton, SD, and will relocate to Brookings in January.