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Barbara Matthews to be next City Manager
The Takoma Park City Council announced the selection of a
new City Manager at its June 1 meeting. Barbara Burns Matthews
has accepted the position and will officially begin work on
July 12, 2004.
Matthews will bring to the position of City Manager 18 years
of local government experience, most recently as City Administrator
of Manchester, Missouri.
"I am honored to have been selected as the next City
Manager for Takoma Park. During the selection process, I had
the opportunity to meet many city officials and community
leaders and was impressed with everyone’s commitment
and dedication to Takoma Park. I look forward to assuming
my duties as City Manager." said Matthews.
The City followed an extensive process over the course of
about 6 months to select the City Manager. A Citizen’s
City Manager Search Committee as well as a consultant were
enlisted to assure that all community needs were identified
and that the process was inclusive. The nationwide search
yielded over 75 resumes, with five selected as finalists.
Three candidates were ultimately interviewed by the Council,
the Committee and city department heads.
Regarding the appointment, Nancy Cohen and Dan Robinson,
co-chairs of the Search Committee, wrote, "We are pleased
with the selection of Barbara Burns Matthews as our City Manager.
Her selection is the result of a successful collaboration
of the Mayor, Council, a consultant hired by the City and
the City Manager Selection Committee. As its contributions
to the selection process, the Committee conducted a public
forum and surveyed residents to better understand the most
important issues facing our community.
"The 32 member Committee also drafted the position description
and questions to which the top candidates provided written
and oral responses. The Committee feels that this is an exciting
and challenging time for the City and that Ms. Matthews is
the right person to assume this leadership role. We welcome
her and her family to Takoma Park."
Howard Kohn, Committee Member, commented, "My first
prediction for our 32-member committee was longwinded bickering
and perhaps stalemate. Instead, thanks especially to Nancy
Cohen, things ran smoothly. We met our deadlines, settled
our disagreements and reached a consensus. In fact, we had
so much fun we held a party at Nancy’s house afterward
just to see each other one more time!"
Mayor Kathy Porter stated, "We are delighted to have
Barbara Matthews joining the Takoma Park staff as our new
city manager. In addition to her extensive city management
experience, the city council was impressed with her commitment
to citizen service.
"We are also very grateful for the work of the citizen
City Manager Selection Committee. The dedication and thoughtfulness
the committee members brought to this process contributed
greatly to our finding such a good candidate."
Matthews has held positions with the cities of Kansas City,
Gladstone, and Kirkwood, Missouri. Matthews has an extensive
background in all areas of municipal operations, including
economic development, finance and budgeting, and labor relations.
She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and government
from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree
in public affairs from Indiana University. As a native of
Virginia, Ms. Matthews is delighted to be returning to the
Mid-Atlantic region.
Ms. Matthews’ compensation package will include a salary
of $105,000, with a $1000 per month housing allowance, and
$400 per month car allowance. Moving and relocation expenses
will be reimbursed.
Richard M. Finn, Takoma Park’s current City Manager,
will be stepping down from his position on July 11, 2004.
Mr. Finn will be continuing to pursue his doctoral studies
in Public Management.
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