The City Council plans to meet Wednesday to consider the appointment of Assistant City Manager Laura Sanders as interim City Manager following the resignation of City Manager Mike Bailey last week.
Bailey resigned, effective immediately, on Friday, Aug. 7. Sanders became acting City Manager at that time, per her job description, pending appointment as interim city manager by the Council.
“As assistant city manager, Ms. Sanders has the authority to act as city manager in the city manager’s absence to ensure continuity of City operations,” said Mayor Jim Curd. “Given that this situation involves a longer-term interim period while Council considers options for filling the permanent city manager position, we have scheduled a special Council meeting as soon as possible. The earliest date possible for staff to prepare the necessary documents and comply with the legal requirements of posting a meeting agenda is Wednesday, Aug. 12.”
Bailey resigned last week after 21 years of service with the City. Hired in 2005 as an accountant, he was named city clerk/treasurer in 2006, and in 2011 took on the additional roles of director of Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer. He was named city manager in 2018.
Curd thanked Bailey for his service to the City and expressed confidence in the City’s leadership moving forward.
“We appreciate Mr. Bailey’s service to the community and wish him luck in his future endeavors,” Curd said. “I know I speak for the Council in saying we have full confidence in Ms. Sanders to serve as acting city manager during this transition. Her experience, leadership, and commitment to our organization will help ensure continuity of operations and the high level of service our residents expect.”
Sanders began her career with the City in 2015 and was named Human Resources director in January 2019. She was promoted to assistant city manager in 2024.
The City Council will discuss the next steps regarding the city manager position during an upcoming Council meeting.
An agenda and packet information will be posted for the meeting on the City’s website as soon as it is available. Council meetings are open to the public and streamed live on the City’s website, www.cityofbartlesville.org. The videos are available, once posted by the third-party vendor Swagit, to view anytime.