The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
UP TO THE CHALLENGE
City Manager Brandon Lovett looking forward to working for New York’s smallest city
SHERRILL, N.Y. >> Three days into his post as Sherrill City Manager and two things stand out to Brandon Lovett: the city does a lot with a little and he is surrounded by elected officials and department heads with decades of experience to use as a resource.
“From just what I have seen, we do a lot work with a very small work force,” Lovett said, complimenting the efficiency of the city’s current operations. Lovett, who has several years of experience working within larger city governments, was impressed with what the Silver City is able to accom- plish with available staffing levels.
His other immediate reaction since beginning as city manager on Monday is the wealth of experience he can tap as he learns the minutia of how the City of Sherrill operates as a municipality.
“I’m very fortunate to have both Mike Holmes (city comptroller) and Bob Comis (interim city manager) here. I’m also fortunate to have experienced and competent department heads,” Lovett said.
“To walk in and have all these resources available, I don’t need to worry about things following through the cracks.”
Likewise, he was appreciative of the acting city commissioner and mayor, whom also bring significant experience as well.
In regards to how he interprets his duties as city manager, Lovett compared his responsibilities to that of a school leader.
“It’s very similar to the structure of a school superintendent,” he said. “I’m held accountable by the Commission. They help with direction and with policy. I follow their lead.”
Lovett, who beat out 19 other applicants for the position, is looking forward to meeting that accountability.
“I certainly appreciate the trust placed in me by the Commission,” he said. “It’s a challenge, but one I’m looking forward to. At the end of the day, I want to do the best for the City of Sherrill.”
The Rome native explained that the City of Sherrill is unique to his previous employers - the cities of Rome and Oneida - because of the manager position. The other municipalities do not currently employ a city manager.
“There’s a certain benefit to the city manager form of government,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to working in this structure.”
City manager or not, Lovett, an Rome Free Academy and SUNY Potsdam alum, has significant experience in city government.
Under former mayor Joe Griffo’s administration in 2001, he worked as a recreation specialist. In 2004 he was promoted to deputy director of parks and recreation under then mayor Jim Brown and then community and economic development coordinator in 2006. In 2007 he took the position of Recreation Director in the City of Oneida, where he served for 5 years until 2012 when he made his way back to Rome. Lovett accepted the position of Director of Administrative Services under former mayor Joseph Fusco Jr. In that position, Lovett says he was exposed to a multitude of different departments. His job focus was initially on human resources, civil service, and insurance. During his latest tenure in the City of Rome government, Lovett also served as one of Fusco’s chiefs of staff, giving him further opportunity to learn and spend time working with every department in the city.
“I was a part of a 6 or 7 member senior staff group who really drove the dayto-day operations,” he said.
When current Rome Mayor Jackie Izzo took office in 2016, Lovett said he was not retained and as a result, he ventured into the private sector where he worked at a staffing firm, gaining experience in the realm of economic development. His time outside of local government was short-lived however, and when Lovett heard of the opening in Sherrill for a city manager, he applied right away.
“City government is work I enjoy and love. Being away for about a year really drove home that government is something I’m passionate about,” he said.
In terms of what he anticipates his first few months in the position looking like, Lovett says he has already started diving into the inner-workings of various city departments.
“In six months, I hope to have a very firm understanding as to how things operate within the various departments,” he said, before adding, “Sooner than that.” Lovett, and the rest of the city government, are also gearing up for operations traditionally associated with arrival of spring and then summer like reopening city parks, planning summer events, and preparing the bidding process for paving jobs.
In addition to the daily responsibilities of an acting city manager, Lovett and his wife Lisa DeFrees are actively searching for a new home in the city as Loveless accepting the position is contingent on his family’s relocation to Sherrill. Though they have not had any luck as of yet, Lovett hopes that as the weather turns warmer, more houses will go up on the market.
And while Lovett is a Rome native, he has no qualms about relocating.
“Everyone, both employees and residents, has been so welcoming. I don’t want to be anywhere else. I love Central New York,” Lovett said.
Lovett assumed his post on Monday, April 17, following the city commission’s Monday, April 10 decision to select him as Sherrill’s latest city manager. Lovett fills the vacancy left behind by Michael Sayles’ sudden resignation in January. During the time between Sayles’ resignation and Lovett’s hiring, former city manager Bob Comis has served in the interim.