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PODCAST

City Manager Unfiltered

City Manager Unfiltered is a podcast by a city manager for city managers. I am your host, Joe Turner, and I’m on a mission to build a community for ambitious city managers. I want to provide you with the career tools and resources to help make you a better executive so you can rack up victories, polish your resume, dominate interviews, land your dream job, and win your contract negotiations. If you are a city manager looking to level up, check out my podcast, City Manager Unfiltered. Hit that

government careers

All Episodes

59:54

From Police Chief to City Manager with Matt Jensby |...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/03/05

After a lengthy and successful career in law enforcement where he served as the police chief for the fastest growing community in Kansas, Matt Jensby had a desire to become a city manager and serve the public in a different way. In this episode, Matt talks about this transition and becoming the city manager for Kechi, a small community north of Wichita.He explains the significant differences between being a department head versus the leader of an entire organization and how much of an eye-opening

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01:19:57

Donald Duncan: Lessons from Hurricane Helene (Part 2)...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/02/26

Caldwell County Manager Donald Duncan and his team were about as prepared as one could be for a natural disaster the size and scope of Hurricane Helene. But even still -- there were lessons to be learned and shared in the aftermath of this storm.In Part 2 of this series, Donald talks about the personal toll this disaster had on him and his staff. We talked about survivors' guilt and how total destruction of the landscape and physical landmarks can cause mass societal depression. We also talked

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01:10:24

Donald Duncan: Lessons from Hurricane Helene (Part 1)...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/02/19

Caldwell County Manager Donald Duncan and his team were about as prepared as one could be for a natural disaster the size and scope of Hurricane Helene. But even still -- there were lessons to be learned and shared in the aftermath of this storm.In this riveting interview series, Donald gives us a rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to disaster response and preparedness. He has also provided us with a checklist for you and your team to review. I guarantee you will come away

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50:21

Rob Boyer Faced Petition to Adopt Strong Mayor Form...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/02/12

In Illinois, Freeport City Manager Rob Boyer recently faced down a citizen's petition to move away from the council-manager form of government and revert back to the strong mayor form.Reeling from mismanagement and economic decline, Freeport abandoned the strong mayor form of government about a decade ago. Since that time, Rob and his two predecessors have done great work to turn the community around. In this episode, we discuss many of his and their accomplishments and how the residents and

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43:18

What Does AAME Advocacy for City Managers Look Like?...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/02/05

City managers deserve to have a professional association that will fight for them and help communicate their narrative in an environment where the deck is usually stacked against them. In this week's episode I wanted to unpack some various advocacy efforts the American Association of Municipal Executives is currently engaged in on behalf of city managers. Not only are we engaged in direct advocacy on behalf of individuals, but we are also working to educate the public so that they have a better

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56:27

James Freed: Life After Victory Over ICMA | Ep. 92

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/01/29

Last September after mounting pressure, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) finally capitulated and settled the James Freed lawsuit a month before it was scheduled to go to trial. In this episode, we catch up with the Port Huron, Michigan city manager and see what life is like after his huge victory.Hint: Lots of vacations with the wife. ROTFLMAO! We also discuss the failures of his state association, the Michigan Municipal Executives, and discuss the feelings of abandonment

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01:08:23

Jeff Cantrell: Blindsided by Separation Due to Weak...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/01/22

When Jeff Cantrell uprooted his family and relocated for a city manager job in central Kansas, he never dreamed it would all come to an end two short years later. He was leaving Chanute (pop. 10,000), a Southeast Kansas town, for Hutchinson (pop. of 40,000) and replacing a well-respected manager who was retiring after holding the seat for 17 years. It seemed like a no-brainer next step in the progression of Jeff's career. In this interview, we talk about how his poorly constructed contract allowed

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01:09:59

Economic Development the Right Way with Kevin Phelps...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/01/15

City Manager Kevin Phelps and his team in Glendale, Arizona have put on a clinic when it comes to leveraging economic development. Since his arrival in 2016, the city has figuratively backed up the Brinks truck and filled their bank accounts with cash.Residents pay lower property taxes per unit of valuation today than they did when he took over. And the number of employees in Glendale today is lower than a decade or so ago. In this episode, we talk about Kevin's philosophical and practical approach

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50:38

City Detect is Revolutionizing Code Enforcement with...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/01/08

Join Gavin Baum-Blake, Co-founder and CEO of City Detect, on City Manager Unfiltered, where he discusses how AI and computer vision technology are revolutionizing urban management.With a background as a US Army veteran, an attorney, and an entrepreneur, Gavin brings a unique perspective to the ethical application of cutting-edge technology in tackling urban challenges like blight, housing decay, and illegal dumping. Discover how his leadership is shaping smarter, safer, and more sustainable cities

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01:28:55

Joe Turner Interviewed by Yucaipa City Manager Chris...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2025/01/01

Yucaipa City Manager Chris Mann invited yours truly, and Calimesa City Manager Will Kolbow, to sit down for an interview on the Yucaipa 360 podcast. The three of us discussed a variety of issues and subjects related to the city management profession and local government. This episode is a rebroadcast of that interview for my audience of listeners. Chris and his team in Yucaipa are really raising the bar when it comes to local government communications and the dissemination of information through

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45:46

The Shared Administrator Experiment in Connecticut |...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/12/25

Three small towns in Connecticut are seeking to share an administrator -- the first time that something like this has ever been attempted according to the organization conducting the recruitment.Joining me on the podcast to discuss this innovative approach is Alex Torpey from the Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston. This shared administrator will be tasked with helping the cities of Canterbury, Chaplin, and Pomfret while technically being

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52:43

City Manager Wanted: Columbia Falls, Montana | Ep. 86

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/12/20

Stale, boring recruitment brochures are played out and offer little value for candidates seeking their next city or county manager opportunity. Many of them contain boiler plate language or rehash text used in a previous announcement for a different community. Isn't it time we re-imagine what a public sector executive recruitment should look like? City managers are in an incredibly risky and volatile line of work. Resignations and terminations hurt their spouse and children.They can be financially

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52:36

Level Up Your Career Using Andrew Patton's Networking...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/12/18

Public sector human resources can be an incredibly challenging environment to operate in for even the most seasoned director. It is another level of difficult when your previous experience in HR was at Amazon, one of the largest and fastest growing companies in the world. When Andrew Patton left Amazon and became the human resources director for La Vergne, he did not have a network of peers to call upon for advice and counsel. He was on an island and soon found himself at the center of a story that

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52:22

My First 100 Days as City Manager with Chris Hoem |...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/12/11

Back in June, the City of Atwater hired Chris Hoem to be their next city manager. It was his first city manager gig and he was coming off of being terminated as a department head a few months before.This interview was conducted shortly after he had completed his first 100 days in the position in late October. We talked about his preparation and how he navigated this introductory period. And he candidly shared his story about his termination and why he did not accept an offer to resign. SHOW

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01:12:49

The Municipal Financial Crisis with Mark Moses | Ep. 83

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/12/04

Mark Moses is the author of "The Municipal Financial Crisis" where he lays out a "framework for understanding and fixing government budgeting."Mark has some strong opinions on how local governments have gradually increased and broadened their scope of services to an unsustainable level and he kills off some sacred cows along the way diagnosing the problem. In this episode, we discuss zero based budgeting, privatization, impacts on the nonprofit community, and how elected officials negatively impact

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37:08

Score an Easy Win with Inclusive Parks | Ep. 82

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/11/27

One of my goals with this podcast is to help you produce "wins" for your resume so that you can advance your career.When you can do the "right thing" and help those who need it most while also scoring a professional win -- it does not get much better. This is a great, relatively low cost idea that many communities will benefit from. Morgan Massera of Coalinga, California, is a mother of a young child that has difficulty communicating verbally. In this episode, we discuss her personal journey and

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56:48

How to Calculate Your Mental Health Score | Ep. 81

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/11/20

In last week's interview about radical mental health transparency, Todd Hopwood broadly discussed the 10 questions he asks himself each day. In this follow up episode, we breakdown those 10 questions, how you should assess them, and how to calculate your score so that you can better track your mental health and mood. Here are the 10 questions: How motivated am I today? What are my perceived energy levels? Are simple tasks easy or difficult? How well have I slept lately? How's my physical

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01:03:19

Radical Mental Health Transparency with Todd Hopwood...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/11/13

Todd Hopwood shocked me when he explained his radical approach to mental health transparency. We discuss a system he has implemented which is designed to help him when he is struggling and needs help the most. Frankly, it is not an approach that I would personally be comfortable practicing in my workplace. However, there is no question that his courage, leadership, and modeling of this behavior promotes greater awareness of mental health issues in the workplace and it most definitely gives employees

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01:17:36

Work-Life Balance is Bullshit with Seth Winterhalter...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/11/06

Seth Winterhalter has some thoughts on work-life balance, leaders needing chaos to thrive, and the let down that achievers can feel once they accomplish major goals.An executive coach and owner of HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions, Seth seeks to help city and county managers escape burnout, set boundaries, and experience breakthroughs in work-life balance. He recently rebranded his podcast to focus on local government executives and content. He has started rolling out interviews with city managers,

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01:05:31

SHS: Using Leverage & Real Estate to Create Wealth...

City Manager Unfiltered ·

2024/11/03

In my first installment of my new "Side Hustle Sunday" series, I discuss the power of leveraging real estate to create wealth with Noel Bernal.Noel started his real estate investment journey in his early 20's before he became a public sector executive. He, along with his wife, have increased their real estate holdings over time and expanded into larger real estate transactions through syndication deals. We both preach the importance of city and county managers adding additional income streams to

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