Slice of life: Winslow City Manager Steve Pauken

Steve Pauken

Steve Pauken

The Navajo-Hopi Observer recently sat down with Winslow City Manager Steve Pauken to ask him about his new job.

How long have you been on the job?

Five and a half months and my interactions have been and continue to be positive, as were my first impressions upon interviewing here. It seems like I just arrived. I moved here from Bisbee, Arizona where I was city manager for eight years. I served as manager in Bisbee longer than any other person.

Are you settled in?

Yes I'm settled as far as I know how to get home from work and the interior of our house has been substantially remodeled. We bought the house out of an estate and it needed a lot of maintenance catching up, to be done. I have to give my wallet a rest for a while, but since it's a two-acre lot, the exterior needs attention next. It's outside of town with no light pollution so I have a great venue for doing astrophotography, which is a major interest of mine.

What do you work for, long term in Winslow?

Jobs. It all starts with jobs. Most of the people who live in Winslow will look for a job here first. That's the reason the city recently purchased 900 acres south of town, providing a great location for businesses to locate here. Our purchase price per acre was very good and we have plenty of acres for new jobs here.

Now that you've been here a while, what are your second impressions

My second impressions are very similar to my first impressions. I have been treated with a lot of respect, not only by the mayor and council, but by the community at large. People here have been very helpful in making us comfortable in our new home here.

What are the major initiatives for the city right now?

The recent vote of confidence on our tax for capital improvements allows us to continue with public infrastructure improvements and will allow us to set aside some money to maintain our facilities. All of our improvements are wonderful, like the skate board park, but facilities do not repair themselves. Maintenance over time is essential. And the second initiative for me is to fight the unattractive nature along the old Route 66 corridor. That is the first impression our visitors get. We have instituted our sign removal/replacement policy and it's progressing, albeit slowly. We sent out 66 notices of substandard devices. Some of the absentee property owners do not have the resources to comply, so we will have to be very creative to solve the entire problem.

Are you expecting to increase the city's employee numbers?

Not at this time. We are in a new normal, which is a downsized city. We have for this new fiscal year implemented a 3 percent pay raise for Winslow employees, excluding myself. I want our workers to know and feel they are valued.

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