City of LG Ponies Up to Get New City Manager
The City of La Grange hired Jack Thompson as the new City Manager.
Thompson previously served as assistant city manager in Crowley, a suburb of Fort Worth with a population of 19,478.
The City Council selected Thompson as the lone finalist for the job back in December. The two parties had been in contract negotiations since that time. Mayor Jan Dockery told the Record that Thompson’s starting salary will be $185,000 annually plus benefits.
His first day on the job will be Monday, Feb. 26.
Thompson’s hiring hopefully closes the book on the City’s year-and-a-half-long search for a permanent city manager. The City began the search in July of 2022 after former City Manager Shawn Raborn announced that he would retire in October of that year after nearly three decades on the job.
The Council interviewed four finalists for the position in December of 2022. They entered negotiations with two of those finalists, and both times those negotiations broke down over pay. The Council eventually signed a contract with their third pick, Fred Bell, who was set to make $150,000 annually plus benefits. Bell served as City Manager for about six months before he and the City agreed to part ways.
The City Council resumed the search in September of last year and interviewed four finalists, including Thompson, in December. A questionnaire that each of the candidates filled out stated that the salary range for the position would be $150,000 to $185,000 annually. Thompson managed to negotiate a contract at the top end of the pay range.
One La Grange citizen questioned the salary that the City will pay Thompson. Theresa Von Rosenberg spoke during the public comment period at the City Council meeting Monday night, Jan. 22.
Von Rosenberg had signed up to speak about stormwater drainage, but she never touched on that topic. Instead, she began her speech by praising City workers who spotted and notified her about a water leak at her mother’s property during the freeze last week. Thanks to their diligence, Von Rosenberg said, she was able to avoid major repairs.
“We’ve got good City workers,” she said.
Von Rosenberg then turned her attention to the recent City Manager hire.
“So I’ve been thinking, I can do it, I can be the city manager,” Von Rosenberg said. “Because $185,000 is you-know-what.
“Look at the Chief over here,” she said, pointing to La Grange Police Chief David Gilbreath. “He risks his life saving people. (The city manager) doesn’t do that.
“Or what about Frank?” she asked, referring to Interim City Manager and La Grange Fire Chief Frank Menefee. “He’s on the fire truck, doing all that stuff, and even helping the ambulances.
“And what about that water leak last week?” she added, referring to an incident in which the City’s water department worked through the night and early morning in temperatures as low as 17º F to repair a water main that ruptured under W. Travis St.
“These guys are doing it for peanuts compared to what y’all are going to pay some high-dollar city manager who probably needs a GPS to find City Hall. That ain’t cutting it,” she said.