Brings experience in human resources, management to table

Denison’s next city manager is someone who is deeply involved in the community through civic and community betterment organizations, has experience in business management and experience in city government.

Jessica Garcia, who resigned from her at-large council seat on Tuesday, will become the new city manager effective September 11.

She is currently the director of the Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC) Denison campus and Southern Service Area.

Garcia gave WITCC a month’s notice.

“So my last working day there will be September 8 and then I'll start here September 11. I'll have the weekend to regroup and then hit the ground running” she said.

Serving on the city council for nearly three years has given Garcia experience in what the city has accomplished and what goals the city council is working toward, but she admits there will be a learning curve.

“There are a lot of aspects that I need to learn within city government, but I would say one tool that has equipped me with the opportunity to be able to do the job is my time on council,” she said. “Some of the things that we need, for lack of a better term, to hit the ground running as city manager, we've already been discussing or working toward. We just need to make the final decision and move forward with the projects.

“I have no intention of recreating the wheel or coming in and changing things, but instead want to recognize what we do that is great and capitalize on that and find what we could do better and work towards making it better.”

Garcia explained why she wanted to become Denison’s next city manager.

“Denison has always been home to me. I was born here, left for a little while and came back,” she said. “I am forward thinking and progressive, and some of the things that we've been looking at in my time on council are ways that we can work together and with other entities, and just be more progressive and forward moving to make Denison a community where people want to visit, shop, live, stay and call home.

“I feel like I can help make that a possibility – help to take things that we've discussed and turn them into a reality.”

Garcia has a variety of career experiences that she believes fit well with the job of city manager.

She served as a human resources assistant manager and then as a human resources manager for an organization.

She spent some time working for State Farm Insurance, which involved familiarity with a full slate of insurance policies.

“And now in my experience with education as the director at Western Iowa Tech in Denison – it is more than teaching in a classroom. It’s more so operating a business, and it’s a business that supports the community,” Garcia said. “Part of Western Iowa Tech’s mission statement is to enhance the communities that they serve.

“I feel like my position at the college has really spearheaded my involvement in the community, and the more I got involved the more I found that my set of skills could help in a variety of different places, which landed me on city council,” she added.

Garcia has a masters in business administration and is currently working on her dissertation to get a doctorate in educational leadership.

Garcia will be in a unique position when she transitions from the city council. Her fellow council members will become her bosses.

She said the relationships with the council members are strong.

“I think part of the reason I even entertained looking at this position when it was presented is the relationship that we do have,” Garcia said.

“I feel like they know my style of communication. I know what they're looking for as council when we're working on a project,” she continued. “I know what they want to see before they make a decision on something, so I think we can be efficient.

“They know I'm going to reach out if I have a question or a concern. They know that I’m very open with my communication and that I'm very transparent with every decision I make. And I know that they'll support me in this position but also hold me accountable. I think that they will respect me in my position, and I will definitely respect them in their position because I've sat in that seat and I know what that's like. They’ll provide me with the tools I need to do the job and I will equip them with the knowledge they need to make educated decisions.”

Garcia said that during the last city manager search she took a hands-off approach and abstained from the entire process and wasn’t on the hiring committee.

“Basically, the city posted the position. There had been some conversations in which friends and other people had reached out and said I should think about this job. So I abstained from all of the material again this past city manager search just because I didn't know what would happen with the application,” she said.

Garcia said she did a lot of thinking, praying and talking with her family before she decided to apply for the city manager’s position, and even after the offer was made, she did not accept it for about three weeks to again think and pray and again talk to her family.

Story Ads 1

Making her decision more challenging is her love for her current position at Western Iowa Tech.

“Western Iowa Tech is a wonderful place to work, and they're making some progressive changes as well. It was a very difficult decision to make,” Garcia said. “I definitely took some time to think it through because both places (Western Iowa Tech and the city) are doing wonderful things.

“I just wanted to make sure that I was able to expand my knowledge and utilize the skill set that I've honed over the past years. It was finding a position where I could put all those skills to use in one setting,” she said.

Garcia will be giving up her council liaison positions with the police and fire departments.

She has also been attending the meetings of the Uptown Improvement Committee and is on the boards for the Denison Rotary Club and the Chamber & Development Council of Crawford County (CDC). She said she will finish her term on the CDC board and added that Councilman John Granzen does a great job as the liaison to that organization.

“I'll continue to participate in Rotary and some of my other civic engagements, but then I’ll also find other community organizations that I can support in my role as city manager,” Garcia added.

She is also on the Crawford County Wellness Committee, and in that capacity, she and Jennifer Zupp are the primary grant writers, doing that work pro bono.

As a city council member and now as city manager, Garcia encourages input from community members.

“Being able to serve a community takes a lot of voices, and it takes a lot of participation by a lot of people,” she said. “I just want people to know that if you see something on social media, for example somebody complaining about Denison, tag me, reach out, let us know those things and your concerns. I want people to be comfortable to come up and share their concerns and give feedback.”

Follow us on Facebook for the latest news and updates