The new guy

By Doug Page | Tuesday, January 2, 2007, 04:27 PM

Pat Titterington is in town, ensconced in the corner office at City Hall.

He has 19 years of government experience, though Troy will be the largest operation he’s supervised.

He serves at the pleasure of the mayor, though if you get cross ways with City Council members, you can expect problems.

The person overseeing the day-to-day operations of a city — be they called city managers or public service and safety directors or what have you — is the lightning rod for unhappy voters, local officials and staff. Much like a school superintendent or a baseball manager, you know the day you’re hired is one step closer to the day you’re fired.

So what does Mr. Tittering face?

First up will be a Jan. 16 (2007) council meeting where the Honey Creek development will likely get much attention. After the Planning Commission and City Council approved a rezoning for the planned development — the city’s largest residential development — the voters trounced that action in a November referendum.

Now the development is back before the council. The Planning Commission has again approved it as meeting all the legal requirements. That is more an affirmation of the city staff’s ability to oversee the development than it is of the development.

Now the politics will come into play on the council.

Economic development has been the council’s top priority for a number of years. It will be interesting to see if it still is — or if residential development is no longer considered part of that economic development package.

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