Johnston appointed interim city manager

While the hunt for a full-time city manager to replace Dale Cheatham continues, The Colony City Council last week named Assistant City Manager Tony Johnston as interim city manager.

Mayor Joe McCourry said the city will be in capable hands with Johnston filling in.

“Tony has years of experience here with the city getting things done,” McCourry said. “He’s a hands-on individual that will continue to hold our city stable and move us forward as we look for a new city manager.”

The appointment is for a term to expire no later than 2011, giving the council ample time to sift through its applicant pool while ensuring someone with experience is in place to help the new city manager once that hire is made.

“Our search is moving forward. We’re just making sure we have plenty of overlap time so there can be an imparting of knowledge between the incoming city manager and Tony,” McCourry said. “It’s a great opportunity to have someone with his knowledge who’s willing to step up and hire a new boss and then help him settle into the job.”

Johnston has worked for the City of The Colony for almost 15 years and has been assistant city manager for eight and a half years. He began his career in The Colony finance director until his promotion to assistant city manager in 2001.

Before working in The Colony, Johnston was in Carrollton as chief accountant for nine years and with the City of Dallas for three and a half years.

Though the appointment is interim, Johnston has full authority as city manager. He outlined his goals for the city during his burgeoning tenure.

“My current goals are to continue the implementation of the first phase of the new police and municipal courts building, as well as the first phase of a new public services building,” he said.

He also plans to continue the process of repairing and replacing some of the city’s residential streets; to examine ways of infusing more life into the city’s economic development; to work with the Texas Department of Transportation and Denton County in acquiring additional funding to extend Memorial Drive across the east side of The Colony into Frisco and to rebuild North Colony Boulevard; and to monitor the budget for sustainability through tight financial years.

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