After a competitive nationwide recruitment process and over 100 applicants, the City of Peoria recently hired three Deputy City Managers.

Travis Cutright, Mike Faust and Kevin Burke join the City Council to drive Peoria’s growth.

City manager Henry Darwin said: “We are very lucky to have been selected from among the great candidates, but it was a difficult decision.” “After implementing a thorough and competitive process, we are thrilled to bring top talent to leadership positions in these cities.”

Cutright incorporates over 15 years of city government experience. Cutright, who most recently served as Chief Innovation and Information Officer for the City of Mesa, is a graduate of Peoria High School.

“I actually went to Peoria High School a long time ago,” Cutright said. “My father graduated from Peoria High School, so there is some history here. It’s been amazing to be in a place where there is a community that we love, care about, and contribute to.”

Cutright started his career as a network services manager for the City of Glendale. After a brief hiatus from city leadership, he returned as Cochise County’s Chief Information Officer and later held the same position in the City of Phoenix.

When Cutright heard about the opening in Peoria, he jumped at the opportunity to get involved with the city.

“This is a special occasion,” he said. “Everything about this job fits right in. The fact that the whole team is new and can come in and shape the culture and shape the organization in an impactful way.”

Cutright will try to do the right thing for his home community. He said he is committed to always being “innovative” and “out-of-the-box” to use his technical background to maximize the city’s growth potential. .

Faust has extensive experience in the private sector and holds the role of deputy city manager. He spent more than 15 years in that field alone before moving to the city or state government level.

Most recently, he served as Director of the Arizona Department of Child Safety for seven years. His motto is “continuous improvement”. This is something he has adopted throughout his career and which he feels is beneficial to the city.

“I have developed my skill set with an appreciation for continuous improvement and efficiency,” Faust said. “I learned that by directly applying cost-cutting efforts and private sector efforts and bringing the same tools to state government.”

One of the most interesting things about Deputy Mayor Faust’s position is that the city resonates with his belief in continuous improvement. As a Peoria resident, he has witnessed the change the city has brought, and he said he feels his addition will only amplify that change.

“I am very impressed with how much great work has been done here and how much the team strives to provide excellent customer service and do it as efficiently as possible,” Faust said. said Mr. “For me, the key to continuous improvement is having a deep passion for the process, respecting the people who run it, and looking for inefficiencies, barriers, and anything that gets in their way.

“Our employees want to go out and help the public wherever possible. You can find barriers and that’s where the fun comes from.”

Faust is excited to be welcomed into the pioneering new group of city deputy administrators, and his passion for making Peoria a better place will help him and the city reach new heights. said deaf.

“The welcome we received from the team and the openness to come up with some ideas and try to share what works and what doesn’t and where we need to invest our energy to even out this. I am very grateful for their willingness to “be a better place,” he said.

Burke is Peoria’s chief financial officer. He has been with the city since his 2018, initially working in the Public Works Department. Burke will become the city’s chief financial officer in 2021.

When the city of Peoria was in the interim phase after Jeff Tyne’s retirement, Burke served as the city’s acting mayor until Darwin was hired.

Mr Burke said his experience in the city would be useful.

“When you combine five years of institutional knowledge with an understanding of Peorian culture, and then combine that with 30 years of municipal government experience, I think it’s a great combination,” Burke said. “We hope to balance their different perspectives with the new challenges ahead.”

Worked as a city administrator in Boulder, Colorado. Flagstaff; Burke said it brings a “steady” attitude to the table. He intends to help the city move into the future without forgetting its history.

“I see the deputy mayor’s role as just that of a facilitator,” he said. “The mayor, the city council, the city administrators, driving policy goals, then how to make them happen within the organization, then how to solve the problem, find the resources out there and realize the results. Reorient and promote departments and their staff and directors on how to do theirs.”

Burke said he was ready to tackle the deputy city manager post and was excited to start working.

“I’m very excited,” Burke said. “We are pioneering new directions, but we have not forgotten our history. So I think both of these elements are very vibrant.”