Meet the new manager, same as the old manager.
The city announced late last week that Michael Mays, who has served as the community development director since 2017 and twice — for about a year each time — as acting city manager, has been tapped to fill the position of deputy city manager.
The position is being filled for the first time, but it is not brand new. Back in 2024, as one of his final pushes before leaving for a new job in Delaware, former City Manager Taylour Tedder presented the idea to the city council and they approved it. But Tedder left before the beginning of the 2025 fiscal year and the position has sat open since then.
Given his experience, it should not come as a surprise that Mays was tapped for the position. As the city put it in a press release, “Boulder City searched nationwide to fill the deputy city manager position, only to find the best person for the job was already working in city hall.”
Mays first stepped in as acting city manager in October of 2020 after the city council fired both the city manager and the city attorney after an acrimonious year that saw accusations of overstepping and not following council direction. Mays served as acting city manager that time for a couple of months shy of a year until August of 2021 when Tedder was hired and moved to Boulder City from Kansas.
Mays was tapped to step into that role again just two years and nine months later when Tedder unexpectedly took a job in the resort town of Rehoboth Beach in May of 2024. This time, the stint was just a month shy of a year until current City Manager Ned Thomas arrived in April of this year.
Mays’ new/old job started last week.
Thomas held multiple panel interviews with several highly-qualified candidates in recent weeks, before offering the position to Mays.
“I appreciated Michael’s willingness to serve in this capacity to ensure a smooth transition within the city manager’s office,” Thomas stated. “While settling into my role as city manager, I have been fortunate to receive much valuable insight and support from Michael. Given his in-depth knowledge of the city and its employees, I am confident Michael will continue to serve the city well.”
Mays, like Thomas, has an extensive background in city planning with more than three decades of municipal planning experience. He has a master’s degree in community and regional planning from Iowa State University, a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Buena Vista College, and certification through the American Institute of Certified Planners. According to the city’s official announcement, Mays ushered Boulder City through the final months of the pandemic, was instrumental in the development of several historic preservation efforts, hired an economic development coordinator to his team to support local businesses, and continues to improve customer service with the business community and residents.
Mays, his wife Jackie, and their children moved to Boulder City in September 2017.
“I am humbled and honored to be selected as deputy city manager and excited to serve the community permanently in this new position,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to work with city manager Thomas, the city council, residents, businesses and fellow employees to help implement the community’s goals.”
Mays is a member of the Boulder City Sunrise Rotary Club and serves on the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce Board.
So, who is going to take over for Mays as community development director? That would be one Michael Mays.
“For the time being, Michael will continue to pull double duty as community development director,” said Thomas.
That’ll make Mays a busy guy. In order to create and fund the deputy city manager position, the plan that Tedder presented and that the council approved, called for the elimination of the position of administrative services director, which was vacant anyway at the time the plan was put forward. So in addition to being the “No. 2” in city staff hierarchy, Mays will be taking on the responsibilities that used to fall to the administrative services director.
According to the city, the deputy city manager position will have additional responsibilities, primarily overseeing day-to-day operations and customer service while the city manager focuses on council and community priorities and implementation of the city’s strategic plan adopted in 2024.
“In addition,” Thomas said, “I am evaluating other options for organizational realignment, to achieve both greater efficiency in service delivery and overall cost savings in light of projected revenue shortfalls in the city’s operating budget over the next few years.”