Huber Heights finally filling top leadership roles; Mayor Gore excited by future

Sorrell will report to newly appointed City Manager John Russell and will oversee the planning, public works, and parks and recreation departments.

Alex Zaharieff is set to join the city to fill the second assistant manager position.

Zaharieff is the current Beavercreek Twp. fiscal officer and previously served as township administrator for nearly a decade. He will report to Russell, overseeing the economic development and finance departments.

Mayor Jeff Gore said Wednesday he has great confidence in the city’s future under the leadership of Russell, Sorrell, and Zaharieff.

“Residents of Huber Heights should have confidence that the leadership team in place (includes) the best professionals in municipal government who will work with their departments to make sure the residents are getting the best services that can be provided with their tax dollars,” he said.

The last time all three manager positions were filled at the same time was when former City Manager Rob Schommer served with assistant city managers Scott Falkowski and Bryan Chodkowski until Schommer’s departure in March 2021.

The city manager position was filled for the next two and a half years on an interim basis, briefly by Falkowski and later by Chodkowski, until the hiring of Rick Dzik in September.

Leadership was shaken up again this year when Chodkowski resigned from his assistant position in May, followed by Dzik’s untimely exit one month later, tied to a DUI arrest.

Council will also vote Monday on a resolution that will authorize Russell to serve as the city’s public safety director in conjunction with his managerial role. He is a 24-year employee of Huber Heights’ fire department, most recently as battalion chief. The resolution would allow him to remain an administrative member of the fire division and a sworn, certified firefighter/paramedic.

Gore hopes to leave behind a period of turmoil among council members, which was highlighted by a tense and prolonged search for a permanent city manager. Gore said he now has his sights set firmly on the future.

“... I have never been more excited as the mayor about where we are as a city and the direction we’re moving,” said Gore, who has been Huber Heights mayor for more than six years. “We have the ultimate group of professional executives leading our staff and I couldn’t be more proud of where we are.”