Thomas Burt This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. MNSUN - News

   www.mnsun.com/story.asp?city=g - [Cached]

   Published on: 10/17/2002   Last Visited: 10/17/2002

   Tom Burt selected as GV city manager MNSUN - News
   
   Select a Town:
   
   Local News
   
   Local News
   
   Community
   ...
   Tom Burt selected as GV city manager
   
   ...
   At a special meeting Oct. 10, the City Council deliberated just 40 minutes before naming Thomas Burt, city administrator in Rosemount, to succeed the retiring Bill Joynes in that position.
   ...
   Burt has been city administrator in Rosemount, a 18,500-population Dakota County suburb of St. Paul located 15 miles south of the metro area, since March 1994.
   
   The council's initial vote was 4-1, with Councilmember Jan LeSuer casting the dissenting vote. However, LeSuer promptly reintroduced the motion and moved to make Burt's selection unanimous.
   
   "I'm really excited," Burt said, in a telephone interview Friday. "My wife and I stayed up really late Thursday night talking about the opportunities. Working in Golden Valley has been a career goal for me, and it will be fun to fulfill that.
   
   He said he expects to begin his new job "within 30 days." He and his family will continue to live in Rosemount, Burt said.
   
   ...
   Burt was among three finalists for the position.
   ...
   "Thomas Burt is the person best qualified to do that."
   
   Councilmember Gloria Johnson, who also favored Burt, said she was seeking a person who could "step in and manage the city well and be a good fit."
   
   "The person I want would value staff with longevity," she said, noting that Burt appeared to be "strong in people skills."
   
   "He understands the value of the kind of team we have presently, and he impressed me with his community style," Johnson said.
   
   ...
   After reintroducing the motion to cast a unanimous vote for Burt, however, LeSuer said, "Mr. Burt will be a superb city manager. I have complete confidence in him. We will welcome him with open arms."
   
   Following the vote – and alluding to the nine-month process involved in selecting a new city manager -- Johnson said, "It's amazing this diverse body can actually come together on one candidate. I celebrate that we have joined together."
   
   ...
   When the council interviewed Burt in August, he told them he set a career goal 20 years ago of working in St. Anthony and also in Golden Valley.
   
   He said he chose public service as his career as a third-grader, when he was a "city hall brat" in Bloomington.
   
   "My mother worked in assessing and personnel at the Bloomington City Hall, and my step-father was a police officer in Bloomington," Burt said last week. "During the summer, I rode my bike to city hall."
   
   One of his innovations as Rosemount's administrator was developing an improved customer service approach to doing business at city hall, Burt said.
   
   In his application for the Golden Valley position, Burt said his other accomplishments included working on redevelopment of Rosemount's downtown area, and developing a partnership with the University of Minnesota research facility that occupies 7,500 acres in Rosemount.
   
   Prior to coming to Rosemount, Burt was city manager in St. Anthony, 1989-94; assistant to the city manager in Brooklyn Park, 1983-89; administrative aide to the city manager in Bloomington, May 1982 to December 1982; planning aide in Bloomington, January 1981 to September, 1981; and assistant planner in Prior Lake, May 1980 to December 1980.
   
   A graduate of Bloomington Lincoln High School, Burt obtained a bachelor's degree in economics and urban and regional studies in 1980 and a master's degree in urban and regional studies in 1982, both from Mankato State University.
   
   He and his wife, Julie, live in Rosemount with their three children: a 13-year-old daughter, and two sons, ages 10 and 5.