New city administrator takes seat at meeting

Dale Hogg, Great Bend Tribune, Kan.
·2 min read

Jul. 5—Recently hired new Great Bend City Administrator Brandon Anderson took his seat in the City Council Chamber for the first time Monday night.

"We'll start off and welcome Brandon here," said Assistant City Administrator Logan Burns, who has been filling in as interim city administrator. "We're very happy he's here, and we're looking forward to the many things that he's going to be able to help us accomplish."

Anderson, who was hired in May, officially began his duties in Great Bend on June 30.

One of the duties of the administrator is to give an update on city projects and activities at the start of the council's meetings, which take place on the first and third Mondays of the month. This task had fallen to Burns.

"So this will be my last update and then I'll pass the torch over to him," Burns said.

A Caney, Kansas, native, Anderson is a 1995 Kansas State University graduate who has served as the city manager in Levelland, Texas, since 2006. Levelland is a town of 12,652 residents west of Lubbock.

Prior to city management, he was an extension agent in Texas for 18 years and had a brief stint in banking.

"I look forward to coming in with a talented staff and working with them" and striving to make all of our departments better, Anderson said when he accepted the post in May. "My view as a city administrator is simply I'm here to serve, just like you are and like of our staff is. We're accountable to the citizens of this community."

In early January, the council tapped Burns, who is also the building inspector, as the interim administrator to fill in as the search to replace Kendal Francis commenced. Francis, who came to Great Bend in July 2018, announced in early December he was leaving to accept the city manager's job in Hutchinson.

The headhunting firm Strategic Government Resources of Keller, Texas, was hired by the city in December 2022 at a cost of $8,500 plus expenses to lead the search process. They started work in January by interviewing council members and city officials about what they were looking for in an administrator.

The company referred three finalists for the position. Council members interviewed them during a four-hour executive session March 29.

Discussions about the selection have been the topic of subsequent meetings and closed-door sessions.