Jim Couch, OKC’s longest city manager, set to retire
Jim Couch will retire in January after 18 years as city manager of Oklahoma City, saying Monday the time is right to open “another chapter” in his career.
Couch, 62, begins a two-year term as volunteer board chairman of the United Way of Central Oklahoma in January but, beyond that, said he had no particular plans.
The South Dakota native plans to stay in Oklahoma City, though, where he began work as Utilities director 31 years ago. He and his wife, Cathy, have two grown sons.
While he may be retiring from city
government, he said, “We’re not retiring from Oklahoma City.”
As the city’s top administrator, he has overseen the renaissance credited with reviving a moribund city, completing the first MAPS projects and shepherding MAPS for Kids and MAPS 3.
Couch had a hand in revival of the Skirvin Hotel and negotiations with two NBA teams, the Hornets club that temporarily relocated from New Orleans and, later, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A civil engineer by training, he has guided plans for water system expansion and was instrumental in negotiating the historic 2016 water settlement among tribes, the city and state. The settlement is intended to securewater for central Oklahoma’s future needs while guaranteeing tribal oversight authority for water resources. Plans for $1.2 billion in water system improvements over the next decade include a second 100-mile pipeline from southeastern Oklahoma.
“I’ve been able to do some pretty cool things,” he said.
That said, Couch singled out development of city staff as among the accomplishments he values most.
“We’ve got quality people in a lot of different areas,” he said. “I really believe that the cabinet is not empty.”
Filling the gap
The city council appointed Couch city manager on Nov. 9, 2000. He is the longest-serving city manager in city history, working under 26 council members andfourmayors.
Of 724 council meetings through those years, he has been present for 690.
Couch said he plans to work until around Thanksgiving and will use vacation until his retirement becomes official Jan. 2.
Personnel Director Dianna Berry said Couch will be eligible for the health, dental and life insurance programs offered to all other retirees.
Couch has a 401(K) account for retirement savings and will not receive a monthly pension benefit. He is earning $251,800 this year.
It will be up to the city council to appoint a new city manager.
Mayor David Holt declined to comment on how that process would unfold, saying he hadn’t “had the chance to visit with any council members yet.”
“Jim Couch is the best city manager in the country and he is absolutely one of the top-five most important figures in this chapter of OKC’s history,” Holt said on Twitter.
In a statement released by the city, Holt said, “I know I speak for the city council when I say that it is with the greatest regret that we hear this news, but we wish Jim only the best.”
Couch will depart with the city’s finances on the upswing after an 18-month downturn triggered by slumping oil-and-gas prices. Since then, the city has posted 17 consecutive months of year-over-year sales tax growth. Sales tax is the city’s single-largest revenue source.
The 2018-19 budget is a record $1.56 billion. The three most ambitious MAPS 3 projects, the streetcar, convention center and downtown park, will open over the next 24 months.
Legacy in water
Couch’s greatest legacy will be what he has called “generational water” from the Kiamichi Basin intended to underpin Oklahoma City’s growth and prosperity deep into this century.
Pete White, former Water Utilities Trust chairman and former Ward 4 councilman, said in a statement released by the city that Couch “ranks right up there with Stanley Draper for his impact on the water system.”
“He’s a steady hand on the wheel,” White said. “His ability to get along with all the players at the table during sometimes very contentious negotiations was and is remarkable.”