The new man upstairs

Eight-year-old Alex Downes sat on the row in front of her father. Periodically, she’d break from entertaining her brothers and sister to peek over the back of her chair and survey the crowd.

They were all new to her that evening, but pretty soon she’ll know most by name – if not by title.

In June, about 50 people gathered in the Vestavia Hills City Council Chambers to welcome her father, Jeffrey Downes of Montgomery, to their city. During the Council’s regular meeting, members unanimously approved Downes to become the next city manager.

“I’m honored,” Downes said following the vote. “I’m a humble individual. Anybody who knows me knows my humility and knows when I enter something new I’m very cautious. I’ve talked to others about it already – the No. 1 characteristic I want to bring to this opportunity is the ability to listen and to collaborate.”

Downes will be the executive leader of the city, forming the point of the pyramid for city administration. His position rests just beneath the mayor and Council.

Under his contract, Downes is slated to earn $150,000 annually and receive an automobile allowance of $500 per month. He will also be reimbursed up to $7,500 to relocate to Vestavia Hills, and $6,500 for two house-hunting trips. The contract commences on July 15 and expires after two years.

In the position of city manager, Downes’ responsibilities will be similar to those in his current role as chief of staff/deputy mayor for the City of Montgomery. Downes said that position, which he has held for 10 years, identifies the city’s chief non-elected official accountable for oversight of all operations.

“So, I’ve carried the role, just not the title,” he said.

In applying for the city manager position in Vestavia Hills, Downes said he sought to sell the Council on his strengths, one of which is his success in developing retail. He said he and his team were responsible for the development of the Montgomery Riverwalk, which has served as the lynchpin in the city’s downtown revitalization.

Downes said his first and only goal once in the position would be to listen to the needs of Vestavia Hills’ residents.

“The best thing I can do is be open to what the community’s desires and wishes are,” he said. “I want to clearly understand from my bosses – the mayor and Council – what their priorities are and work hard to accomplish them.

Downes added he’s had success with this method in the past.

“One of things that’s unique with me, I’ve worked with four different mayors, and I think you’ll find I was always very reactive to their priorities,” he said. “I always found a way to accomplish the mission at hand.”

When Vestavia Hills officially moved to the Council-Manager form of government in 2012, it completely restructured city administration. According to Lori Lein of the Alabama League of Municipalities, Vestavia Hills joined only Auburn and Tuskegee as the only cities in the state that use this form of government, defined by a legislative act passed in 1982.

Lein said many other communities in the state have hired city managers to oversee operations, but they still operate under the Mayor-Council form of government where the mayor retains authority as the chief executive officer of the city. A nearby example of this form is found in the City of Mountain Brook.

According to a release from the City of Vestavia Hills, Downes began his career with the City of Montgomery in 1987 as a college intern in the finance department. His role as an intern included supplementing staff roles in all divisions of the finance department and implementation of special projects under leadership of the director of finance. In April 1989, Downes was hired permanently by the City of Montgomery as its first risk manager.

In that role, he created a workers compensation management system, a fully integrated employee assistance program, a drug-testing program, a self-insured liability program and a flexible spending account program. Then, in 2003, Mayor Bobby Bright tapped him to serve as one of his Executive Assistants.

 “Since it went public, I think I’m both a little nervous and excited,” Downes said. “For the first time in many a day, I shed a tear from the sadness of leaving my friends, family and colleagues. But it’s also exciting that the news has been well received by so many individuals in Vestavia Hills.”

During the Council meeting, Downes was commended for his performance in interviews, as were all four of the City’s candidates for manager.

Along with Alex, Downes will move to Vestavia Hills with his wife Penny, sons Chad and Harrison, and daughter Sydney.

“I will work harder than anybody has ever worked to take (Vestavia Hills), the great city that it already is, and move it forward.”