What talents and qualities do you want to see in a new city manager? What past experiences or professional background should he or she have?

The new city manager should have a focus on improving our quality of life from providing first rate city services to developing sports and recreation opportunities second to none. They should have tremendous people skills coupled with financial prowess. They should know how to take advantage of our seaside location and good relations with the local military. They should take a cue from progressive metropolitan areas and move to make Virginia Beach more bike and pedestrian friendly. Virginia Beach is a great place to live and we have a great mayor with vision to make things better. The city manager's job will be to work with the mayor and city council to move forward and make vision a reality.

First and foremost...fiscally conservative. A philosophical approach of doing more with less and not prone to a small population of vocal special interest groups looking after themselves and not the population's best interest. Competitive especially when working with surrounding cities who care nothing for the resort city. Very strong supporter of our most precious commodity, the military community and associated veterans. Does not ride a bike nor cares who does or who doesn't. Loves the water and recreational boating. Will have a beer or glass of wine with friends OR the city Treasurer to discuss business.

I would like to see a city manager whose is a cyclist with priorities that include: education & enforcement of exisiting cycling laws for VB police, motorists and cyclists. We need to pay careful attention NOT to waste money building dangerous cycling infrastructure that makes travel more dangerous for motorists and cyclists, leading to more crashes, and is often a waste of our limited tax dollars. I advocate for edcuating everyone that uses our roads - pedestrians, cyclists and motorists though mailer, emails and proper signage.

Submitted by Todd Solomon, SDCC President - City Manager Qualities/Experience identified by members of the Shore Drive Community Coalition at their 9/28/15 General Meeting.
• Supportive of Volunteer Rescue Squad
• Experience with topics/items in VB Comprehensive Plan and be supportive of them
• Needs to have Experience/Background in the following:
o Sea Level Rise
o Master Planning
o Safety & Environmental Health
o Dealing with Military
• Should be or have been a City Manager of a large city
• Should be coming from a tourism city/area
• Familiar with the Dillon Rule
• Embraces and supports Civic Engagement
• Practices unbiased/impartial decision making
• Embraces and supports Complete Streets concept
• Should be a cyclist or commute by bike
• Needs to understand and be willing to work on new initiatives/approaches regarding National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Disaster Preparedness
• Good financial management skills. Come from a city that holds a AAA or better bond rating

Qualities: Strong leadership and managerial skills. Creative and innovative thinker. Broad professional and life experience that brings new ideas and perspectives to city government. Familiarity with infrastructure needs to address coastal flooding associated with storm surges and sea level rise.

I would like to see a city manager that is truely concerned for the employees and their working conditions ie. benefits. As our insurance goes up / lose of paid lunch / leave policies changing (except for police and fire under the disguise of "they have a union and we can"t change them".) What seperates great companies from everyone else is that they don't
use the excuess of " that is what everyone else is doing so that is how we will operate". They always first and foremost take care of their employees... they understand that their MOST VALUABLE ASSET is their employee. Therfore they take care of them ie. insurance/benefits /leave. A happy employee will benefit a company 100 fold voluntarly and will be a positve spokes person for them. Treat them unfaily and they will become silent and only do their job and no more. The city of Va Beach is made up of citizens,business people, contractors etc., but the City of Virginia Beach is made up good and hard working individuals who are willing to go above and beyond if only treated fairly. Thank you

I believe we need to hire a women in this position. I truly think that a women will be able to budget our money & plan our future so much better givent he fact we do this on a daily basis anyway as mothers, wives and independent career individuals.

Hello, I'd like it to be someone who could implement these ideas- a city where families had sidewalks that ran across town and were safe places to stroll their children, ride bikes, and walk their dogs without fear of getting hit by cars. I'd like someone who has a progressive green and Eco friendly vision where it's not mostly about serving the developers and building on top of homeowners. I'd like to see someone who has integrity and fairness and balance in her or his decisions. I'd like the next city manager to remove all the unnecessary surveillance cameras at almost every intersection and now on our interstate every 30 seconds or so as you travel at 60 mph. I'd like to see someone who is moral and upright, who follows Christian based principles. Finally I'd like to have someone who has a proven track record of listening to and serving the citizens and not the corporate interests solely.

I moved here 18 months ago. I have lived in several other cities, big and small. I am very surprised at how behind the times Virginia Beach is when it comes to recycling, city codes, and other municipal matters. The new manager would likely face resistance but it would be great if the person was progressive and knowledgeable on trends that have been successfully implemented in other similarly sized cities. The candidate should also have experience with overseeing projects and a proven record of being accessible to the public. I'd like to see someone who is interested in and able to get this city moving forward and WORKING WITH the other municipalities in the area.

I would prefer the new City Manager be very analytical and possibly have a science or law background. The individual needs to be proficient in doing their own research and becoming knowledgeable about topics facing the city instead of taking consultants or department heads words for things. It would be good for the CM to have experience with right-sizing organizations and re-focusing them to essential functions not "nice-to-haves". The CM needs to have effective communication skills and be able to explain all factors considered in making decisions especially unpopular ones. I would like a CM that has some technology savvy and responds to their own email.