Livingston County administrator Nathan Burd resigns for job in Texas
LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Livingston County Administrator Nathan Burd is resigning from his post, effective Sept. 1.
Burd announced his intention to resign Tuesday, July 18, and accept a job as city manager in Nassau Bay, Texas, near Houston.
"I've missed city management," Burd told The Daily. "I loved being county administrator here. It's been great. But my background was more in city management, and so managing a city again was appealing."
His three-year contract with the county ends this month, he said, and the timing seemed "reasonable."
Nassau Bay "is a smaller community that's really tied a lot to NASA," Burd said. "The city was initially developed to provide housing, basically, for a lot of employees of NASA. It has a unique history. It's surrounded by water on one side and you've got the (Lyndon B.) Johnson Space Center on the other."
"I had an absolutely spectacular experience the last three years here in Livingston County," he added. "I'm not leaving out of any negative situation here. We have the best group of department directors that an administrator could ever hope to work with here."
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners selected Burd as county administrator in 2020 following the sudden death of former county administrator Ken Hinton.
Before working for the county, Burd served as city administrator in Adrian, an administrator for Wolverine Lake in Oakland County, and a public services director in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, among other roles.
Officials named Cindy Arbanas, the county's chief financial officer and deputy county administrator, to serve as interim county administrator until a replacement is found. Arbanas also acted an interim administrator after Hinton died.
"She’s great. She’ll do a great job," Burd said. " She’s done that before. She’s familiar with the job and responsibilities, and she’ll do a fantastic job for the country."
He said the county has already started the process of searching for candidates and is requesting a proposal for search services from Okemos-based Hiring Solutions, LLC, which the county has hired in the past.
County Commissioner Douglas Helzerman wrote in a Sunday, July 23, column in Fowlerville News and Views that Burd had "given us a heads up" prior to announcing his resignation.
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"Though we had just given him a favorable second three-year contract, and he was very satisfied with his job here, he felt that this position in the state where he grew up, with a warmer climate and other more favorable conditions for his growing family, was right for him at this time," Helzerman wrote.
"We accepted his resignation with deep regret because his performance here was superior and he was well received by all in the county government structure. He came in the first months of COVID and helped us navigate all the complexities of that situation. He will be sorely missed, but we wish him all of the best."
— Contact reporter Jennifer Eberbach at jeberbach@livingstondaily.com.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Livingston County administrator Nathan Burd resigns for job in Texas
