FINALLY A PERFECT SPRING DAY, daffodils line the Town Office sidewalk and Mike Casey, Middleburg's new town administrator, has agreed to an interview. Betty Wolford, the town treasurer, offers coffee and a seat in Mike's office. It is neat, orderly, and dust free. Family photos show a big family. These folks look relaxed, and seem to be beaming with joy.

Mike talks first about his background and career path before he came to Middleburg. His background is in city and town management where, for 25 years he worked across the country from North Carolina to California including, Oregon, Colorado, and Iowa, as city manager, county manager, and as an assistant manager.

He has a Masters in Public Administration and a Certificate from Harvard's program for "Senior Executives in State & Local Government." Mike was elected to the Board of Directors as Vice President of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), headquartered in Washington, DC. During the last eight years he has consulted in the private sector as a headhunter for cities, counties, and nonprofits. He helped Charlottesville, Virginia recruit their Police Chief and one of their county managers and recruited an information services executive for Rockville, Maryland.

Mike why did you select Middleburg as the place to live and work?

My wife, Carol, and I had been looking at property in this area, from here to maybe Leesburg. We talked about how it would be fun to go back and manage again. This would be the smallest community where we had ever lived and worked, most of the places I worked were populations of 100,000 or greater, Des Moines Iowa at a quarter million people was the largest.

I called the Mayor of Middleburg, to ask him if they would consider someone who had as many years on him as I did, and he said yes. I was one of four – five people they talked with and I was offered the position, I'm glad to be here. It is fun to be back in this business. I really enjoy helping communities work and think about what they want to be as they grow up.

How different is working in Middleburg?

In terms of things like budget or even problems there is not that much of a difference. The budgets have more zeros after them in bigger cities; it's simply a matter of scale. I think managers in these organizations do it because they want to make a difference, obviously in the smaller communities, you see that happen more quickly. I think I can bring value to this community.

Is residing in Middleburg a big change from your last residence?

Our last residence was in the North Shore communities in Chicago. We lived in the North Shore, a small community of 12,000 people, but a very high profile and very active community. Frankly in terms of things like wealth and issues it was a lot like Middleburg.

What does your job entail?

We have a council manager form of government, It is most analogous to a private corporation. We have a board of directors, and we hire an operating officer or a president. There are over 5,000 council manager governments in the nation. It is considered to be the most professional local form of government.

Basically, I hire most of the employees, in some instances the officers of the organization, and the council hires, or confirms my appointments. I am responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the organization, what police officers, street and water employees do.

I am responsible for preparing a budget recommendation for Middleburg; the council actually adopts the budget. I am responsible for managing the budget, and looking at issues down stream that could impact what the community might be facing in the near future. Then, performing an analysis or getting an expert opinion so I can make recommendations to the council on such matters. The council is the policy group. They hire someone like me to manage things on a daily basis.

What are the most challenging aspects of your position?

Understanding where the community is, where the citizens on the street are in terms of the issues around growth management, and the services we provide.

Middleburg has a real challenge in its water and sewage system. It's a very old system and Well Number 4 will cost over two million dollars by the time we are finished. Also, we actually have three choices on how to handle the replacement of the wastewater plant. The first one is to rebuild around it, and build a piece of a parallel system; the second option is to rebuild the building, and actually replace it with current technology; and a third choice is to rebuild, but to put into place a newer technology that is just coming into use called Membrane technology which is going to be the technology of choice for the next ten years or more.

Do you have a large network of city managers to tap into to discuss solutions to problems like these?

Yes, I knew Bob Noe beforehand, and, in fact Mike Amyx, the executive director of the Virginia Municipal League, and I worked together in Des Moines, Iowa. Mike has been here about 20 years. He manages the cities and towns legislative program that's working. I know many managers and also know technical experts. The Public Works Director in Charlottesville was president of the American Publics Works Association about five years ago, I helped her recruit one of her division manages, so I can call and talk to her about these issues too.

What do you like most about what you do?

I most enjoy having an opportunity to make a difference. I also enjoy working with staff and seeing people grow and develop.

What do you intend to change or improve to better serve the citizens of Middleburg?

I have to go back to the utility issues; we have to get a grip on that. I think we as an organization can do more than we are doing now, in fact I know we can, any organization can do 10-20% better if they just apply themselves. We have good folks, but if we stop and think about some of the things we do, we can get more out of what we have here.

Is there anything you would like to say to the people of Middleburg?

We are extremely excited to be in this community and have been warmly welcomed. I'm glad I made this decision, and have been asked by some of my colleagues if we moved to Middleburg to retire. Absolutely not. There is a lot to do here, and I'm looking forward to helping get it done.

well Number 4 will cost over two million dollars by the time we are finished. Also, we actually have three choices on how to handle the replacement of the wastewater plant. The first one is to rebuild around it, and build a piece of a parallel system; the second option is to rebuild the building, and actually replace it with current technology; and a third choice is to rebuild, but to put into place a newer technology that is just coming into use called Membrane technology which is going to be the technology of choice for the next ten years or more.

Do you have a large network of city managers to tap into to discuss solutions to problems like these?

Yes, I knew Bob Noe beforehand, and, in fact Mike Amyx, the executive director of the Virginia Municipal League, and I worked together in Des Moines, Iowa. Mike has been here about 20 years. He manages the cities and towns legislative program that's working. I know many managers and also know technical experts. The Public Works Director in Charlottesville was president of the American Publics Works Association about five years ago, I helped her recruit one of her division manages, so I can call and talk to her about these issues too.

What do you like most about what you do?

I most enjoy having an opportunity to make a difference. I also enjoy working with staff and seeing people grow and develop.

What do you intend to change or improve to better serve the citizens of Middleburg?

I have to go back to the utility issues; we have to get a grip on that. I think we as an organization can do more than we are doing now, in fact I know we can, any organization can do 10-20% better if they just apply themselves. We have good folks, but if we stop and think about some of the things we do, we can get more out of what we have here.

Is there anything you would like to say to the people of Middleburg?

We are extremely excited to be in this community and have been warmly welcomed. I'm glad I made this decision, and have been asked by some of my colleagues if we moved to Middleburg to retire. Absolutely not. There is a lot to do here, and I'm looking forward to helping get it done.