Houston City Administrator Bill Bates plans to retire from his post effective Nov. 1.
“I’m proud of what we have been able to accomplish, but it is time for me to move from the daily grind,” Bates said. Bates, who began duties in November 2000, said he might take on some consultant work if the city wanted his services.
Bates’ retirement will set off a recruitment by Houston City Council members who hope to have a replacement named by early fall. That would allow the new hire to work with Bates before his departure. That would mean the new administrator would help craft the city’s budget for fiscal year 2008, which begins Jan. 1. Advertisements are expected to be placed in several newspapers, as well as a Missouri municipality publication.
Houston’s new city administrator will face a full plate of projects, including a major upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, development of a walking and bicycling trail in the community and assisting with ongoing downtown revitalization efforts.
Bates, a Texas County native who graduated from Plato High School, came to the city from Avondale, Ariz., where he was public works director from August 1991 until he accepted the Houston job.
Bates’ wife, Brenda, is the director of the Texas County Library system and is expected to continue in her position, which includes overseeing libraries at Houston, Licking, Cabool and Summersville.