Interim city manager Robert Eads outlines priorities: finish projects, stabilize finances and engage community

Robert Eads, Elgin’s interim city manager, said he started in late September and is focused on keeping city operations moving while the City Council completes a search for a permanent manager.

“I serve a role to facilitate the process, prior to a permanent city manager being selected,” Eads said. He told the City of Elgin’s public information program that, although he does not hold the permanent position, he is concentrating on “some very serious things that need to get done,” including finance work and continuing projects already underway.

Eads said a national search firm contacted him after he had already applied for the permanent job earlier in the year and that he was a semifinalist in May. He noted the council has not yet chosen a hiring approach and said his role is to provide continuity while the council decides how to proceed. He also said a previous interim manager, identified in the interview as Mr. Turner, served in the same role for about eight months.

A former city manager in Laredo and Del Rio, Texas, and with experience in border communities including San Luis, Eads described his career path from the U.S. Marine Corps into city management and, more recently, a period working for the Boys & Girls Club by family choice. “Stepping back out and coming out of that, wanting to get back into the business that I love so much,” he said, describing his return to municipal leadership.

Eads laid out several practical priorities: advancing ongoing capital projects, addressing finance issues the council and staff have identified, and maintaining continuity so city services continue while the search proceeds. He said the recently completed budget still requires ongoing work as projects move forward.

Community engagement is a central part of Eads’s stated approach. He said he lives “about four blocks” from city hall, speaks Spanish, and plans to be visible at downtown events and gatherings to meet residents and business owners. He said he wants to build relationships across staff and the public and emphasized accessibility: “We’re a community for all.”

Eads said he will participate in the upcoming Hawkeye Festival and invited residents to stop by to talk. He also described the satisfaction he expects from seeing multi-year projects and downtown improvements come to fruition, saying public-facing changes allow officials to point to concrete results in years to come.

The interview provided background and a snapshot of priorities; no council action or personnel decision was recorded during the exchange.