Winters hired as next Poplar Bluff city manager

Poplar Bluff City Council members have hired current city planner Matt Winters to be the next city manager.

Current city manager Mark Massingham announced last week that he would retire effective July 10.

Council members voted unanimously Monday to hire Winters during the second of two special closed meetings to discuss personnel matters. The first was held Thursday.

Winters will take over effective July 11, with a salary of $110,000.

“Poplar Bluff is rich with opportunities and exciting challenges to overcome,” said Winters, who was hired in 2018 as city planner. “I look forward to working with our city council and local citizens.

“We are so fortunate to have such a strong group of department heads that are eager to make Poplar Bluff the very best it can be.

“I am honored to serve as the next city manager in the community that I love.”

Winters came to the city planner position from Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission, where he had been associate director since 2008.

Winters was the most logical choice, said Mayor Robert Smith.

“Matt has worked closely with the city and he’s very well versed in finance and the operations of the city,” said Smith. “He’s a very good people person.”

The council chose not to go through a search process, Smith said, because, “We were afraid we may have fallen back into the Kaplan era.”

A very bad choice was made in hiring the city manager prior to Massingham, said Smith. Massingham has been city manager for approximately five years.

“We needed someone locally that knows our city,” said Smith. “We thought he could maneuver through the problems that we face every day.”

The council faces difficult decisions in the coming weeks regarding mid-year budget cuts, and is in the midst of a controversial project to construct a new police department. It will also make decisions about construction of a new city hall in the future.

Council members were unanimous in hiring Winters as city manager, but were split 5-2 on the topic of salary.

Winters currently makes $72,000 a year.

Massingham’s current salary is $126,000 a year. He started as city manager five years ago at $120,000.

Smith and at-large council member Chris Taylor voted against the salary measure.

No one starts at the top, said Smith, who declined to comment further on the matter.

The city is fortunate to have Winters as city manager, said mayor pro tem Steve Davis, who voted for the salary measure.

“He understands the town and he knows what the challenges are. I feel like he’s proven himself over the last couple of years,” said Davis. “He’s honest, ethical and he and his family have good standing in the community.

“I think this is worth a lot.”

Winters also has extensive grant writing skills, Davis said.

Massingham will stay on with the city in a limited capacity for a transition period.

The details of that, including the amount of time and salary, have not been finalized, said Massingham.

“Mark will remain on in a consulting capacity to work with me through the transition,” said Winters. “He has offered to work up to two days per week as needed. Mark loves our community and I am appreciative that he is willing to continue to support me through this transition and lend his expertise from his many years of serving the citizens of Poplar Bluff.”

The city planner position will be hired by the city manager and a final candidate approved by the council, said Smith.

The city will begin advertising in the next week for the city planner position, said Winters, who is working with the human resources director on the advertisement.