City Manager resigns post; accepts position in Little Elm

The Guthrie City Council accepted the resignation of City Manager Matt Mueller in a special meeting Friday afternoon as Guthrie News Page reported on Wednesday.

Mueller has accepted a similar job in Little Elm, Texas and will continue to be on staff until September 15.

Mueller notified city staff and council members on Wednesday of his intentions.

Council members went into executive session for forty-five minutes and responded with a unanimous vote (7-0) to accept the resignation.

“This was not an easy decision to make,” Mueller said, who will have served since Feb. of 2010. “It has been my honor to serve the Guthrie community as its City Manager for the few past years.”

“We have faced many challenges together and worked very hard to plan for the future of Guthrie in order to put things in place that will benefit Guthrie for years to come,” Mueller said.

The job opening was posted on the city’s website following the council meeting. Resumes will be accepted for two weeks and a narrowed down list of five to six candidates will interview.

Vice-Mayor Trey Ayers will lead the committee in selecting the next City Manager. Mueller, along with selected members of the city staff, will aid in the hiring process.

Mayor Chuck Burtcher told Guthrie News Page that they are hoping to have a replacement as soon as possible.

“Matt is going to be a great help in this. We have been through this recently and we know what we want,” Burtcher explained. “Whoever comes in is going have to step up to the plate because that young man has knocked a home run.”

“I am so very proud of that young man. He has come into this community and made himself a part of this community. He has climb some mountains in this community and has been straight up about it,” Burtcher said.

Mueller, 33, took over the Guthrie position after serving as Claremore’s Deputy City Manager’s position and prior to that was Edmond’s Manager Analyst. His position at Guthrie was his first as a City Manager.

“This community is proud of him,” Burtcher said. “That is all I have heard in the coffee shops and banks. Matt has laid a great floor mat and I think that is going to make it so much easier and we are going to find a strong, community oriented person that is going to live in this community.”

Mueller, who holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Central Oklahoma and a master’s in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma, will take over a city in Little Elm, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, that has seen a boom in population.

According to the census numbers, in 2010 Little Elm had a population of 3,646 before sky-rocketing to 25,898 in 2010 and is now almost to the level of 28,000.

“It is important to me that young people move up in life and do better for themselves, their wife, their family. That’s what it is about. He’s not leaving us with anything but great memories,” Burtcher said just outside of the city hall chambers.

Mueller concluded that he will always appreciate the opportunity that was given to him and his family in Guthrie.

“Guthrie will always have a special place in my heart and I will be forever grateful that the city council took a chance on me and gave me my first opportunity to be a City Manager,” Mueller said.