Mike Bailey begins tenure as city manager

August 14, 2018

By Kelli Wiliams
Photos by Jay Hastings
City of Bartlesville

Newly appointed City Manager Mike Bailey’s transition from assistant city manager to the top leadership role for the City of Bartlesville has been virtually seamless — mostly thanks to years of preparation and the support of City staff.

“I think Ed Gordon said it: They don’t work for me, they work with me,” Bailey said. “I think the fact that I had seven years to grow into this role helped, but this is a great group of people. We have always worked together very well, and we continue that relationship today.”

Hired in 2005 as an accountant, Bailey is uniquely qualified for the job. Just one year into his City career he was named city clerk/treasurer, and in April 2011 he took on the additional roles of director of Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer. He was named city manager recently by the Bartlesville City Council, taking over the post officially on Aug. 1.

“I had so many titles at one time that it became kind of joke,” he says. “But I’m grateful to have been able to serve in so many ways. I’ve learned a lot, and I know the experience has helped prepare me for the role I’m in now.”

That experience proved invaluable last year, when then-city manager Ed Gordon was forced to take several months off due to a medical issue. Bailey served as acting city manager during Gordon’s absence, taking on such tasks as the 2018 General Obligation Bond Election, achieving two-year contracts for the City’s police and fire unions and the implementation of an enterprise-wide software system.

With those challenges out of the way, Bailey says staff will continue to make voter-approved initiatives and projects a top priority. He says that although some minor, internal changes are on the horizon, no major changes are in store.

“There are some things that will change internally that I hope will make us more efficient and effective,” he said. “But as far as changes the citizens will see, there’s nothing major planned. I’ve been part of the planning for this city for over a decade, so there’s nothing that we haven’t been able to get done over that period of time that I now suddenly feel compelled to enact.”

One thing on Bailey’s radar the public will see is a survey designed to obtain public preferences on sanitation services — including recycling.

“We intend to do a survey for our sanitation system to determine what services the rate payers would like to see and what they are willing to pay for,” he said. “The survey will include questions about things like bulk waste pick-up, and we’ll be revisiting the topic of recycling.”

Bailey said work on the survey will start in the next few months.

“I’m very fortunate to have inherited an organization that’s in good shape. No major changes are needed,” he said. “For as long as I’ve been associated with it, this has been an organization that has been well run. And that’s not going to change.”

Bailey and his wife Shannon, who is the manager of Diabetes and Nutrition Education Services for Jane Phillips Medical Center, have two children, Olivia, 16, and Connor, 13.