Questions & Answer with Doug Selby, the New City Manager
Over the summer, Auburn residents participated in forums to identify the qualities they wanted in the next city manager, and to set priorities for the man or woman hired to lead the city. By summer’s end, Doug Shelby, the former City Manager of Las Vegas, had been hired. Operation Auburn recently had the opportunity to interview Mr. Shelby. With feedback gleaned from the citizen forums in mind, we asked Mr. Shelby the following questions:
Please share a brief background summary – both personal & professional
I was born in Oneida, NY where mother’s side of family is long-time residents. My parents moved west when I was an infant. I grew up in Las Vegas, but also lived in Idaho, Utah and California.
I have degrees in biology and engineering. I received my PhD in engineering from Utah State and am a licensed engineer. I moved into city management about 13 years ago after a successful career in engineering where I specialized in water and wastewater systems. After being city manager of Las Vegas, my wife and I sought a change of lifestyle and moved back to CNY in the fall of 2008. Until joining the city of Auburn, I ran my own management consulting company.
What do you see as Auburn’s strengths & weaknesses?
Auburn’s strengths
On our first visit to Auburn my wife Susan and I were immediately impressed with the fresh, clean look of downtown. As we explored the city and visited with people we gained great appreciation for the rich history and deep roots of Auburn and its residents. I also continue to observe the deep commitment of Auburnians who are working to keep the city attractive, friendly and prosperous.Auburn is also a convenient base for tourists to stay and explore the fascinating museums, galleries, theaters within the city as well as the many Finger Lake attractions within a short drive from here. These traits make me very optimistic about Auburn’s future as a destination for sophisticated travelers who are interested in history, entertainment and recreation.
I also see opportunities to grow our existing manufacturing companies and attract new businesses that will result in job and population growth for Auburn. We have abundant water, power, rail connections and other supporting infrastructure to support this growth and very capable economic development departments and staff in both the city and county to help businesses become successful. More small businesses are finding that manufacturing off shore is not as economical as it once was given rising labor costs, shipping costs, shipping delays and quality control issues which combine for the benefit of our local economic development potential.
Auburn’s weakness
Like all cities, Auburn faces the challenges of a stagnant national economy; however, unlike many cities Auburn has not let this stand in the way of optimism about the future and a drive to preserve important quality of life issues for its citizens. Programs like the Music Theater Festival are the kind of efforts that will reinvigorate and diversify Auburn despite other economic challenges.
How will you capitalize on the strengths and improve the weaknesses?
Capitalizing on strengths
With great historic, natural and entertainment resources Auburn is just waiting to be discovered. The work of the various tourism and economic development organizations is critical to getting the word out about the great opportunities in Auburn. Once discovered, I believe word of mouth recommendations will expand awareness of Auburn as a visitor destination.Improve Weaknesses
To make sure that visitors have a pleasant experience both government and business need to work together to create a welcoming environment. Parking should be convenient and easy to find, streets safe, pedestrian areas attractive and clean, and adequate lodging opportunities. Every visitor contact should be positive to keep people coming back to enjoy all that Auburn has to offer.
What are your first areas of focus?
Area of Focus
The city of Auburn has wonderful employees who are committed to doing their best for the community both on the job and off. I marvel at how our employees are working hard to continue to provide excellent service even though we are short on staff and resources. Since starting work at the end of August I have spent a lot of time meeting employees, meeting community leaders and learning about how the city operates. In many ways Auburn has much in common with Las Vegas, its form of government, the services it provides, the social and economic challenges it faces are all similar, if not on a smaller scale. But I have also learned that city workers here have deeper ties and greater pride in their community, so they often go above and beyond in their efforts to serve the public.My primary focus since starting work at the end of August has been to get a handle on the city’s financial situation. We are financially stable, but we need to remain vigilant to avoid serious budget problems. We must work efficiently and use our limited resources effectively. One message that I have been sharing is that new ideas are welcome. I want to nurture creative, innovative thinking in our employees to bring forward ideas that will make our operations more customer-friendly and economical. My goal is to ensure that city revenues and expenditures are balanced and sustainable over the long term.
How would you define your leadership style?
Leadership style
I am an adaptive leader. By that I mean I try to match my leadership style to the situation. In most cases I prefer a collaborative approach and find that this is the best way to build a self-motivated team who often exceed expectations. I strive for decision making based on sound facts and considering all sides of an issue. On the other hand, it is sometimes necessary to take prompt action to resolve a problem because there is no luxury of time to deal with some issues. I also believe in value-based management. I have shared my core values with my department heads so they understand what is important to me in their performance. Honest, integrity, innovation, respect for people and public service are what I believe in as city manager and try, not always perfectly, to emulate. I believe that these values are aligned with what citizens expect from us as public employees.
