(Seguin) — The Seguin City Council is once again offering high praise for the job performance of City Manager Steve Parker.
The council met in closed session on Tuesday night to conduct Parker’s annual evaluation. When the council returned to open session, it immediately became clear that Parker was again getting high marks from his bosses.
Councilman Jason Biesenbach says he’s seen firsthand how involved Parker is in every aspect of this community.
“Many of us, along with the mayor, attend many city events, groundbreaking, community events, and civic functions throughout the year. And one thing I consistently notice is that Manager Parker is always there. He’s always present, engaged, and supportive of both staff and this council, regardless of whether the event is large or small. The same commitment is reflected internally. Our department directors and city staff stand firmly behind Mr. Parker, and it’s evident by how many people are here (now) that don’t need to be here right now this late in a meeting. Strong leadership shows up, not just in reports and meetings, but in morale, trust, and day-to-day operations. A good example of that is his decision to provide an additional Friday off after Christmas, as a paid day for staff. It was small but thoughtful action that had a meaningful impact. And I heard directly from many employees of how much that gesture boosted morale and reinforced that their work is valued,” said Biesenbach.
Biesenbach says as the city’s top administrator, Parker has done an incredible job, and he called him an amazing city manager.
“When it came time for this formal evaluation, I completed mine thoroughly and in full because I believe that feedback should be grounded in participation, documentation, and good results. Based on that, Manager Parker’s performance reflects strong leadership and fiscal management, organizational oversight, and council support. He provides timely information, clear analysis, and well-reasoned recommendations that allow this council to make informed decisions,” said Biesenbach.
Mayor Donna Dodgen says Parker is an effective leader who works closely with the council and the community to help make Seguin a better place to live, work and play.
“Thank you for being a great city partner, a great community member, (and) a great volunteer. Many times, when things are occurring and happening, Steve is right there in the middle of it. I appreciate that he doesn’t say no. He says, what can we do and how can we make it work? (He understands) that we do deserve nice things, and how can we take it to the next level. He does that in everything he does, from hiring people to putting the faith and autonomy in his directors and allowing them to direct. But also, being there when they might need something or they need some direction or they need some help and they need some movement,” said Dodgen.
Dodgen says being a leader means you have to be an effective communicator and you have to be able to adapt to the specific needs of each situation. She says that’s something that Parker does on a regular basis.
“He has no problem in saying, ‘that’s not correct. How about this way? Or what about this? Or that might be a good idea.’ Those are important pieces to make our community (better). We’re moving and we’re changing. We talked about that. We’re moving and we’re changing quickly, but we want to retain our (sense of) community. And we retain that community by being involved. We retain that community by being open and honest and transparent and being available. And we’ve all done that, and we all do that. And Steve leads that by example. And that’s very important to me. It’s very important to how we manage and how our city moves forward,” said Dodgen.
Seguin is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, and Dodgen says Parker is the right person for this moment in Seguin’s history.
“It’s important about how we move forward, how we do things, how we change, and what we bring here. We hear it all the time, and when we go to things, we function differently. We function as a unit. We care about things. We do our homework. We do what we need to be doing, and we move forward to that. But yet, we make hard decisions, and we may not always agree. And Steve helps us with that. At times when we need clarification or experience, he gives that, but he might not necessarily lead us but truly guide us. And so, I just want to say thank you for that. Thank you for being a good partner to me in that we can divide and conquer and do things. We have an incredible relationship where we can be open and honest and caring with each other,” said Dodgen.
Parker thanked the council for its continued support over the last six years. He also thanked his staff. He says it takes a team approach to make things happen for the city.
“This council creates a vision. They have the complete trust of the community. And that’s not easy when you have a fast-growing community. (There’s) seven people a day moving to Seguin, and that can create a lot of tension. But the community is well educated. They understand that we’re going to grow. They just want to grow smart and to see some of these retail projects coming to fruition is just amazing — game-changing in a lot of ways. People are tired of driving to New Braunfels and San Marcos and San Antonio. But we would not be able to accomplish everything we accomplish with the number of people that we accomplish it with, if it wasn’t for a council that is all rowing in the same direction and has the trust of the community that is now rowing all in the same direction,” said Parker.
The praise from the council also came with a pay increase. Instead of boosting his annual salary, Dodgen says the council opted instead to offer Parker a one-time lump sum payment of $8,103.49.
“The base salary will remain the same. This is a one-time 2.5 percent merit increase. So, the base salary remains the same. I just wanted to say that for clarification, for the community to know that openly and honestly,” said Dodgen.
Parker just finished his sixth year as Seguin City Manager. He came to Seguin in January 2020, after spending several years as an assistant city manager in nearby San Marcos.