In a surprise, current City Manager Buzzy Newman will switch roles with Ward to help with the transition
Dylan Ward, the current assistant city manager and an 11-year veteran with the city of Henderson, has been named the new city manager.
And in a surprise twist, current City Manager Buzzy Newman has agreed to flip-flop roles with Ward, taking on the assistant city manager role through at least the end of the fiscal year on June 30, and possibly longer.
Having Newman as the assistant city manager will allow for Ward to further transition into the new role, said Mayor Brad Staton and Newman.
Both new roles will begin on March 3.
Ward’s hiring came after a search to find Newman’s replacement that yielded 31 eligible applications by the Oct. 31 deadline. Of those, Staton said six were asked for an interview with four ultimately going through the interviewing process.
The interviews were conducted by the Board of Commissioners. Staton said at the end of the interviews Ward rose to the top.
Much of the comments Tuesday evening after the announcement was made revolved around the continuity that the city will maintain with Ward’s hiring. Ward is heading up the Deaconess Henderson Sports Park project, which is nearing completion, and is also overseeing the construction of the new fire station on Second Street.
Perhaps more than that, the commission liked the mentorship that’s been provided by Newman since Ward began working for the city 11 years ago, which—aside from internships—has been his only place of employment since graduating from Western Kentucky University with a B.S. in civil engineering. He also later earned a master’s in public administration from WKU and is a licensed professional engineer in Kentucky.
Newman acknowledged the close relationship, saying Ward was like a son to him, and that he agreed to move into the assistant city manager role “because of that young man” and pointed to Ward.
Newman, however, said he didn’t offer his opinion during the interviewing process. He said that he sat in on all the interviews but didn’t ask questions and didn’t provide any feedback to the commission regarding the interviewees.
A change for Ward will be the political pressure which falls square on the shoulders of the city manager. The 33-year-old Ward said, though, that he’s ready for that after having seen his mentor work. Much of that involves approaching stressful situations with an open mindset willing to hear different viewpoints, Ward said.
Newman said Ward understands the pressure the job brings, and Ward will have to get used to the extra level of public involvement that the top administrative spot brings.
That public involvement is one of the facets of the job many in the community applaud Newman for. He gets things done, much of it through knowing who to call to get it done. And this will be another added responsibility for Ward that again Newman says he’s ready for. He’s got the “know how to navigate getting things done,” Newman said. “He’s figuring out how to make things happen.”
Commissioner Rodney Thomas said that in the last five years, the city has taken on many projects and Ward “had a hand in all of it.”
He also said he spoke to at least a dozen employees, and all said they wanted Ward to get the city manager position.
Ward expressed his gratitude for the opportunity.
“I am really excited for this,” he said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about for a while. I think the future is bright for the city.”
In addition to the sports park and new fire station, Ward has also worked on the East End Park, Countryview Stormwater Project, the redevelopment of The Bridges Golf Course, Community Dog Park, and The Perch Pocket Park, according to a release from the city.
The city first hired Ward as an engineering assistant, before a promotion in 2016 to public works engineer, then in 2017 to project manager, before in March being named the assistant city manager.
Ward’s hire for the most part completes the city’s succession plans to replace longtime and retiring city employees.
As part of the plan, the commission aimed to make hires and allow them to work beside the retiring employees for several weeks or months. The goal was for the new employee to gain as much institutional knowledge from the longtime employee before he or she retired.
Those include Chelsea Mills, who was hired last December to replace the retiring Robert Gunter as the head of the Finance Department.
Megan McElfresh was hired in February to replace retiring 19-year vet Connie Galloway as the head of the human resources department.
Jessa Brandon was hired in June to replace retiring city clerk Maree Collins, a 29-year city employee.
When Ward was hired in February as the assistant city manager, a stipulation was that he needed to move to Henderson within 18 months—and if he moved within 12 months he’d get a $5,000 bonus. Ward, currently an Owensboro resident, said he is scheduled to move into a new Henderson home in January.
Dylan and his wife, Hannah, have been married 10 years. They have two children, Lindleigh, 6, and Caleb, 2.
