“Everything I learned, I learned from him,” John Wright said, referring to working with his late father. “There was some pressure definitely, but it was pressure that I enjoyed. I loved every minute of it.”
When asked what he hopes others will think about him when he eventually leaves the city manager’s job, Wright said, “I just hope they think that I did a good job.”
Wright said he has not yet submitted a formal resignation letter but told city council about his plans to retire this year during an executive session meeting in July.
“My plan is to leave June 1,” Wright said.
“He wants to be like any other individual. He wants to travel and do things before he can’t do anything,” said Mayor David Seagraves.
He added that John Wright’s length of time in office ” not only speaks to John’s excellent ability to communicate, but to his love for his home and a commitment to this community.”
The city has begun searching for his replacement with the help of consultants based in Cincinnati, according to Seagraves. There are currently 27 candidates vying for the position, including Sonja Keaton, the city’s assistant city manager and director of Finance.
Brookville’s population is just under 6,000, said Wright.
City council would like to select a new city manager by the end of March, Seagraves said.
Seagraves credited Wright’s work ethic as being one of the reasons why he is an asset that the city hates to lose.
“The management style that John has is not going to jell with what’s going on today. The guy coming in here today is going to have to work behind the desk and go home. If there was a water main break, John is usually the first guy at the water main break,” Seagraves said. “Or he’s out cutting grass when we’re short-staffed…You’re not going to find that, in managers today.”
Wright said one of the best lessons his father taught him was to take care of the city’s businesses.
“You have to take care of the businesses in the city because they are what makes us survive. That’s where we get most of our revenue, from businesses,” Wright said.”My biggest focus has always been on the day-to-day operations. That’s where I think the focus should be and that’s what the citizens expect. They expect their trash to be picked up, their water to come on when they turn it on and they expect their streets to be pothole free.”
Wright graduated from Brookville High School and started his career as a city employee while he was a high school student. He used to cut grass for the parks department. He later went on to work in the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
When asked about some of the highlights of his time as city manager, Wright mentioned the growth of the city’s industrial development. “We’ve got some major employers in Brookville. We’ve got the Payless Shoe distribution center. That was a huge thing for Brookville with the employment numbers,” he said.
He also mentioned the time when the city got a new water tower, the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant and moving the city government building as being highlights of his career.
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