By Brian Wright
Pinal County Manager Fritz Behring beat out two other finalists Wednesday and was hired as the new city manager in Scottsdale.
In a 7-0 vote by the Scottsdale City Council, Behring was named city manager, best- ing former Tempe City Behring Manager Charlie Meyer and Tom Wilson, the assistant city manager for development services in Palm Springs, Calif.
Reached by phone Wednesday evening, Pinal County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Miller said it’s “unfortunate for Pinal County” to lose Behring, whom Miller holds in high regard.
“Hopefully we don’t lose any ground for all the good he has done for Pinal County and how he has cleaned our operation up,” Miller said.
A contract has not been finalized with Scottsdale, but Behring’s proposed salary for his first year is $205,000.
When Behring arrived in Pinal County in November 2010, it had a lingering
reputation for corruption. Former County Manager Stan Griffis spent about three years in prison for stealing more than $400,000 from the county and committing other crimes.
Miller said Behring changed the culture of county leadership when he arrived.
“He changed it more for the rank and file maybe than he did for the upper-management side, even though the upper-management side loved him as well,” Miller said. “But I think what it was … he was always consistent, and he was always fair. He didn’t waver on his principles or his standards for anything.”
During his time in Pinal County, Behring preached efficient government and getting rid of wasteful spending. He was also a proponent of hiring employees based on their qualifications instead of their connections.
In February, Behring said Pinal County used to be awash in nepotism and cronyism.
“We had lots of employees not hired on their merits, not hired on their abilities or their skill sets; they’re hired (based) on who they’re related to, who their uncle was, if their daddy was a supervisor, or their mother was a former elected official or they’re the relative of some important person,” he said.
Behring said the county has made significant progress on that front, aiming to hire only the most qualified employees.
Another aspect Miller said he appreciates about Behring is his ability to motivate employees.
“Fritz just had that ability to rally the troops — to try and make Pinal County a better place,” he said.
Miller said before Behring took office, previous county managers were never rewarded for “doing the right thing.”
He said they were encouraged to look the other way when someone did something wrong. Under Behring’s leadership, he said, people were held accountable for their actions.
“He’s going to change Scottsdale,” Miller said. “You check in two-and-a-half years the difference in Scottsdale — there won’t be a problem over there.”
Behring has more than 20 years of management experience. He managed cities in Nebraska and Florida before becoming county manager of Clay County, Fla., in 2005.
“I look forward to working with the staff and citizens in Scottsdale to make this an even better community,” Behring said in a city of Scottsdale news release. “I am confident that working together, we will accomplish the community’s goals.”
Behring will replace Interim City Manager Dan Worth, who served for nearly a year after former City Manager David Richert abruptly resigned last July 2.
