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Ross handed interim reins for city
By Zach Markovic, zmarkovic@acnpapers.com
As the final days of office approach for City Manager Tom Muehlenbeck, the city council has appointed Deputy City Manager LaShon D. Ross to the position of interim city manager effective Feb. 1.
Ross will serve in this capacity until a permanent replacement for Muehlenbeck is found.
Mayor Phil Dyer made the announcement during the preliminary meeting of Monday night’s city council. The council also honored Muehlenbeck, who will step down on Jan. 31, by proclaiming the week “Tom Muehlenbeck Week.”
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“She has been with the city for the while, she is familiar with the protocol and is a very talented person,” Dyer said. “She has all of the support that anyone could ever want and we felt very comfortable with the decision to appoint her to this position.”
According to a released statement by the city, Ross joined the city of Plano as human resources director in March 2001, serving solely in that capacity until February 2009, when she was promoted to assistant city manager. She was named deputy city manager for the community services business center in July 2010. In this capacity she has oversight responsibilities for the library system, the parks and recreation department, the human resources department and the office of risk management.
“I am really pleased that the outgoing city manger and city council placed this level of trust in me,” Ross said. “I have gotten so much support from the city staff.”
Ross received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M-Texarkana, completing a Master of Science in Counseling at Southern Methodist University in 2010. Prior to coming to Plano, she served as human resources director for the city of Texarkana for 12 of the 13 years she was employed there.
Mayor Pro Tem Lee Dunlap said it was her work in human resources that really highlights the potential Ross has within the city.
“Plano has been very lucky to have a city manager that chose just the right people at just the right time for service to our city. LaShon Ross is no exception,” Dunlap said. “She will be supported by other individuals just as carefully chosen and well-trained as herself. LaShon’s personal training and experience in the area of human resource management will be very helpful to our community, city staff and the council as she guides us through the transition between city chief administrators.”
Ross said the appointment is all about keeping the city on course with the path that has been laid out by the 23 years of service from Muehlenbeck. With little intention of changing anything currently in place, she said her goal is to maintain the status quo.
“It will just be service continuity as the main goal,” Ross said, “to keep things running smoothly for the city until the time the city can hire the new city manager.”
The search continues for a replacement for the outgoing city manager. Dyer said the city hopes to reach a decision in the next 45 to 60 days. The consulting firm hired by the city, Affion Public, received a significant number of applications, which they narrowed to seven people; Dyer said the city whittled the list even more.
“We reduced the list down to five, but we won’t consider them finalists until we get a chance to talk to them,” Dyer said. “As all we have seen so far is resumes and bios. We want to bring those people here in the next couple weeks and then will be able to really shrink that number down at that point.”
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