Kenneth Chandler

I have been a career public servant since completing by

undergraduate degree in Public Relations and Mass
Communications in 1987. Elective course work in urban studies and
management served as an elementary root for my interest in public
service at the local government level.

My parents were married 54 years of which 20 years were served in

the United States Air Force. My parents were very active in many
volunteer and public service organizations of diverse nature to
include: Social and Civic Clubs, the County Planning Commission,
State Historic Preservation Review Board, etc. These actions still
provide a heavy conviction for my desire to remain in public service.

I have been in public service almost 24 years with career

appointments following a core service line of executive
management, human resources, and management services. This
core service base has provided the opportunity to serve
professionally in a number of progressively responsible
appointments to include:

• Assistant to the County Administrator/Personnel Director

• Administrative Services Manager/Personnel Officer
• Human Resources Director
• County Administrator
• Public Utilities Director
• Deputy County Manager/Chief Operating Officer
• Executive General Manager
• City Manager (current)

On a personal note, I continue to develop and deploy my personal skill set of community collaboration
and human development in an effort to help individuals reach their maximum potential. This desired
goal is supported by development opportunities like: the Senior Executive Institute, current study in the
Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) at Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.

1
 Why I Should be the City Manager for the City of Plano
The City of Plano provides a unique opportunity for me to aid the City Council and the administration
establish the foundation of strategic measures and policies that will govern the next 20 years of public
service delivery. My career portfolio has prepared me for this opportunity with consideration of some
key factors including:

1. The ability to have served at an executive level of a AAA bond rated locality (Arlington, VA) to provide
a valued perspective of the necessity for a conservative approach to financial management while
being mindful to focus on those service that sustain the quality of life.

2. To understand how to provide services on a local and regional basis to localities with populations
greater than 200,000.

3. The ability to understand the functions and operations of local governmental organizations from a
human, financial, operational, and servant leadership perspective.

As the City of Plano reaches its mature stages of development and service delivery, I am comfortable in
my ability to draw on a wealth of diversified experiences that can serve the city council, staff, and
community in a productive manner

2
 Development Experience
I have experience working with the establishment of key administrative infrastructure that can aid a
community’s ability to sustain itself while creating a sense of place. Some of the development tools
include:

• Form Base Code which establishes greater flexibility for development opportunities while
establishing sustainability through mixed use development
• Master Transportation Plans which instill the use of multimodal transportation elements that focus
on pedestrian friendly, walkable, livable, sustainable environment
• Worked to establish Green Building Policy
• Work to establish modifications to current zoning policy leading to the creation of a new zoning
ordinance aimed at enticing development establish through a community wide civic engagement
process.
• The Destination Portsmouth initiative was established in an effort to tie the principles of the City
Council vision for the year 2025 to land use development.
• Coordinated staff efforts to produce the City’s first economic development strategic plan geared
towards the enhancement of opportunities best suited for the character of the City (maritime,
medical, etc.)

3
 Financial Leadership
• I have worked to establish and maintain strong financial management relationships with the major
credit rating agencies which have resulted in four career bond rating upgrades. The City of
Portsmouth’s most recent upgrade is the first in more than 20 years.
• I have worked with elected officials to create strategy aimed at providing the greatest return on
investment of the tax dollar while maintaining a sound and transparent practice of financial
management.
• We worked to establish financial principles through policy while managing an overhaul of the
methods used to project revenues aimed at meeting the ever growing amount of expenditures.
• We have partnered with neighboring localities on a regional basis to develop a long term financing
plan to eliminate the dilemma of having some of the highest solid municipal disposal rates in the
county while working to sustain the Commonwealth of Virginia’s AAA bond rating status.
• Created and implemented a two year budget process aimed at establishing a two year fiscal plan to
better track expenditures.
• We have used budgeting for outcome concepts and principles of performance management and
measurement to assure the best use of the public dollar with a greater sense of transparency and
community involvement.

4
 Relationships within the Community,
City Government, Boards and Commissions
Following initial consultation with the Portsmouth City Council I worked with staff to establish the
acronym ANCHOR. This process was used to link the administration to City Council’s vision:

• “A” stands for Attain Council’s Vision

• “N” stands for Neighborhood Preservation
• “C” stands for Civic Engagement
• “H” stands for Historic Preservation
• “O” stands for Operational Excellence
• “R” stands for Regional Cooperation

In an effort to secure a workforce commitment to Council’s vision we established another acronym, “C’s”
to the third power. Here each of the three C’s stand for:

• Customer Service
• Communication
• Collaboration

In establishing the Destination Portsmouth program, we worked to make sure City Council played a
major role in selecting key citizens to participate as members of an ongoing steering committee. The
administration worked to select individuals from the business community, chamber of commerce, and
private sector in an effort to have greater input and well rounded decision making