Tag Archives: Princeton City manager

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City manager residence at issue

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City managers are responsible for a lot of things emanating from City Hall … such as taxes that they propose for city residents to pay for municipal services.

It always has struck me that the individual who proposes a specific tax burden for residents in their city should have to shoulder part of that burden himself or herself.

Here in Princeton, where I have lived for six years, that’s not the case. The city hired a young man, Mike Mashburn, as its city manager in 2024. He signed a hefty contract, then was given an extension and a raise shortly afteward.

He took the job without having to move to Princeton. The city charter, approved in 2023, doesn’t require that the city’s chief executive officer live inside city’s limits. Mashburn hasn’t made the move. A group of Princeton residents, though, want to amend the city charter to make in-city residency a requirement of City Hall’s top dog.

I have two thoughts on this idea. My first thought is that the City Council that sent the charter to a vote of residents should have written such a requirement into the document. I find it unconscionable that the city manager doesn’t share the burden he proposes for others.

My second thought is that since Mashburn is under contract he could sue the city for breaching that agreement if the cåharter amendment passes. Moreover … he well could win that lawsuit, which could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in a settlement.

The mayor who engineered Mashburn’s hiring lost her re-election bid late in 2024. Brianna Chacon interviewed Mashburn and then presented him to the City Council, which then — after meeting him for the first time in closed session — voted unanimously to hire him.

The bottom line from my vantage point is that the City Council did not perform its due diligence by insisting that the city manager live in the city where he would work each day.

As for City Manager Mike Mashburn, he should sell his house and move here … pronto!

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Where must city manager live?

It’s pretty cool to have sources who tell you things that you can check out with a simple internet search … such as what happened this very day.

A snitch told me that the Princeton city manager is not required to live in the city where he or she administers public policy. My eyes widened — or so I was told by another person in the room.

I blurted out “What? The city’s top administrator isn’t required per the city charter to live in Princeton, Texas?” My friend/snitch said, “That’s right.”

Wow! I couldn’t stop thinking about that jewel of information as we talked about other matters. So, what did I do when I got back to Princeton, where I live? I looked up the Princeton City Charter on the city’s website. I scoured through it and found the chapter and verses related to the city manager.

Section 5.04 states: It shall be the duty of the City Manager to submit an annual budget not later than thirty (30) days prior to the end of the current fiscal year to the City Council for its review, consideration and revision. 

You know what that means, right? It means the city manager must recommend how much of our tax money we must pay to fund the annual budget. Yet the manager isn’t required to share our pain as we are forced to pay it.

The current city manager is a young man named Mike Mashburn, who came to Princeton from Farmers Branch. The City Council hired him immediately after meeting him for the first time just this year. It then gave him a five-figure pay increase in base salary just a few weeks after hiring a fellow who hadn’t done anything yet.

And yet, nowhere in the City Charter, which Princeton voters endorsed just this past year, does it stipulate any residency requirements for the city manager.

I long have believed that cities should require chief administrators to live in the communities they serve., Those administrators, such as city managers, also should require their top deputies and other key departments heads — whom they hire — to do the same.

Police chiefs, fire chiefs, financial officers — and the city manager — should bear the burden that city councils demand of those of us who pay the bills. Hey … fair is fair!

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Severance coming … hmm?

Now comes a question that pops into my noggin whenever I hear about a senior public official being forced out of his high-paying, taxpayer-funded position.

Will he get a severance package to “soften” his landing?

The Princeton City Council on Friday accepted the resignation of City Manager Derek Borg, effective immediately. That tells me two things: He was told to resign and that had he resisted the council would have terminated him.

Does a city manager deserve a severance package when (a) he wasn’t doing the job, which prompted the meeting of the council in the first place and (b) resigns his office, which technically is a voluntary act.

Borg does not deserve a “golden parachute” to soften his landing. If he wasn’t performing to the standard set by his employers, the council, why “reward” him with a huge bonus … unless it’s an expression of thanks for saving the city from future grief?

I trust this information will come out in due course. I’m just offering an opinion on what I think should occur.

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Princeton manager search commences

President Biden said the other evening that the United States is “at an inflection point.” as it grapples with the complexity of world affairs. Well, so is the city in Collin County, Texas, that I now call home.

The Princeton City Council this week accepted the resignation of its city manager, Derek Borg. The council had called a special meeting to “discuss” the manager’s job performance. It met in closed session for two hours and then voted 5-0 to accept Borg’s resignation … effective immediately.

Inflection point? Boy howdy. Is it ever.

Princeton is in the midst of a growth explosion. Its population nearly tripled from the 2010 to the 2020 Census, from 6,807 residents to 17,027 residents. But the growth hasn’t even begun to abate. By most folks’ estimates, the population of Princeton has exceeded 25,000 people.

Which brings me to my point. The City Council must get this search, vetting and selection of a new chief municipal administrator right … or else!

The council makes one personnel hire under the terms of its charter. It chooses the city manager, who then selects department heads.

If I could write the ideal profile for a city manager to run a city on the move such as Princeton it would have to include “visionary.” It also must include someone with experience administering another city going through the growth that is happening in Princeton. The city manager must be creative and forward-thinking.

Princeton does not need a caretaker, a placeholder, someone who is just marking time until retirement. Princeton’s growth requires a city administration led by someone who knows where he or she wants to take this community.

I don’t want to overstate it, but I do believe this community has reached its form of “inflection” as it grapples with overwhelming growth. It needs a city manager who can take charge of City Hall’s municipal machinery.

To the City Council, I only can add that it is time to get busy.