For immediate release For more information contact:
June 22, 2010 Victoria City Manager’s Office 485-3030
City Manager Charles E. Windwehen
To Retire on February 28, 2011
(VICTORIA TEXAS) Victoria City Manager Charles E. Windwehen will retire on February 28, 2011 after 36 years as a City employee. Windwehen has served as City Manager since October 1, 2006.
During his tenure as City Manager Windwehen worked to keep Victoria’s municipal operations financially strong and stable while preparing the City for growth.
“Things are going well in Victoria, “Windwehen said. “Even during this time of a national economic slowdown, Victoria is in a strong fiscal position with a lean budget, and our City Council fully supports the plan to continue rebuilding our aging infrastructure.”
During the past decade the City has spent more than $200 million towards rebuilding the City’s infrastructure while the City tax rate has dropped from 70¢ to 64.5¢. Major thoroughfares including Ben Jordan Street, Airline Road, John Stockbauer Drive, Lone Tree Road, and Laurent Street have been completed or are underway, with the Sam Houston, Red River and Loop Overpass projects set to begin soon.
Major quality of life improvements have been added during Windwehen’s tenure, including the Skate Park, the Youth Sports Complex, the Lone Tree Creek Hike and Bike Trail and the Guadalupe Paddling Trail. The Downtown Improvement Project is currently underway.
“With his strong background in financial management, I am not surprised that our community is in a solid financial position,” said Mayor Will Armstrong. “But Charles and his team have done an amazing job developing a critical infrastructure-rebuilding plan, improving public safety for our citizens with police and fire department modernization, and applying best business practices in his management of day-to-day operations. As a public servant, he’s always been accessible and responsive to citizens and the business community, and has cultivated an open and transparent approach to addressing the challenges facing Victoria.”
“A City Manager has to coordinate and balance many competing priorities in a community,” Windwehen said. You have to balance service expectations of the Council, the public, and the departments with the public demand of lower taxes. My greatest sense of accomplishment comes from the experienced and highly competent management team that we have developed, along with instituting a company culture that values continued process and service delivery improvements. We have been able to achieve ambitious goals because of our excellent Directors and a City Council that has had the community interest at heart.”
Charles E. Windwehen is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Texas A&M University with a BBA in Finance. After graduate study in 1973-74 at the University of Texas at Austin he later received an MBA from the University of Houston-Victoria and has been a Credentialed Manager in the International City/County Management Association.
Windwehen’s first job with the City was in 1975 as the Assistant Director of Finance with the task of converting the accounting system from a manual entry to a computer based operation. Within three years he had also assumed the role of the City Secretary and was promoted to Director of Finance, a position he held for 17 years. In 1994 Windwehen was promoted to Assistant City Manager under Manager Denny Arnold. He served 12 years in that position and was hired by the Victoria City Council as City Manager in October of 2006.
Mayor Armstrong said that Windwehen’s announcement gives the City Council time to develop a plan to hire the next city manager.
For more information, contact the Victoria City Manager’s Office at 485-3030.
Charles E. Windwehen
Employment:
- City Manager, City of Victoria, Texas: October 2006 – February 28, 2011
- Assistant City Manager, City of Victoria, Texas: October 1994 – October 2006
- Director of Finance, City of Victoria, October 1977 – October 1994
- City Secretary, City of Victoria, October 1977 – October 1982
- Assistant Director of Finance, City of Victoria, January 1975 – October 1977
Education/Training:
- Texas A & M University, 1973, BBA Finance - Summa Cum Laude University of Houston-Victoria,
1980 MBA
- International City/County Management Association Credentialed Manager January 2003-2006
Professional Contribution and Awards:
- Texas City Management Association Board of Directors, 2003-2005
- Texas City Manager Association Region 9 President, 2001-2002
- Texas Municipal Retirement System, Board of Directors, 1997-2003
- Texas Municipal Retirement System, Chairman of the Board, 2000
- Certified Government Finance Officer, 1987-1999
- Recipient Government Finance Officers Association of Texas
- Outstanding Finance Officer Award, 1996
- President of Board of Government Finance Officers Association of Texas, 1994-95;
- Board of Government Finance Officers Association of Texas, 1991-1995
- Budget Reviewer Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Program, 1987-1991
Professional and Community Affiliations
- Member Sunrise Rotary Club 1996-2004
- Victoria Rotary Club 2005-2006
- Member Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
- Loaned Executive United Way Drive 2000
- International City/County Management Association
- Texas City Management Association
- Adjunct Lecturer University of Houston-Victoria
- Lecturer for the Certified Public Manager Program, Texas State University
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