Gilbert apparently will be looking for a new town manager because it’s current top administrator is about to be hired by Glendale.
Glendale City Council has scheduled a special meeting for tonight, Oct. 14, for the sole purpose of “action on City Manager Employment Agreement appointing Patrick Banger to the position of City Manager.”
According to the contract posted by the council. He would start Jan. 12 with an annual salary of $400,000, making him one of the highest paid top municipal administrators in the Valley.
Gilbert Town Council also is meeting tonight but its agenda makes no mention of Banger’s imminent departure.
Banger, who has led Gilbert through explosive growth for 14 years, is the longest-tenured city or town manager in the East Valley after Chris Brady retired from the Mesa manager’s position in May after 19 years.
Banger could not be immediately reached for comment, but told the Gilbert Sun News earlier this month that he would not be conducting any interviews out of respect to the town.
Instead, he released a statement that said he had “expressed preliminary interest” in the Glendale job” but respected “both communities and the proper evaluation process.”
“Any decisions will be made thoughtfully by both parties after thorough consideration,” he added, saying he remained “fully focused on my current responsibilities in Gilbert.”
Banger was one of two finalists for the Glendale position.
The other candidate for the Glendale job, Vicki Rios, joined that city’s administration in 2013 as assistant finance director and has been assistant city manager since 2019.
Glendale began looking to fill its top administrative post in July – four months after City Manager Kevin Phelps announced that he was stepping after nearly 10 years in the position.
Most of Gilbert’s Town Council did not return calls for comment after Glendale named the two finalists and it has not public addressed Banger’s possible departure.
Town Council at least in the short term could turn to one of his four assistant town managers while it decides whether to look for outside candidates.
That’s how Banger came to Gilbert after the council in 2011 conducted a four-month search for a replacement for Collin DeWitt, the fire chief at the time who agreed to serve as interim town manager for about 18 months.
Banger’s career has included a mix of government and private-sector work, though he has held government positions for 24 years.
His most notable local government stint before Gilbert was as the city administrator of O’Fallon, Missouri, from 1998 to 2004.
He also has seven years of executive leadership experience within the private sector.
He is an active member of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Senior Staff Committee, the Arizona City/County Management Association and was a former honorary base commander at Luke Air Force Base.
Banger received the 2019 John J. ‘Jack’ Debolski Award for Excellence in City Management from the Arizona City/County Management Association. Three months ago, he was elected the chair of the Maricopa Association of Governments) Management Committee for 2025-26, a position he has held before.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and public law from Missouri State University and a master’s in management from Webster University, Missouri.
Banger came to Gilbert at a time when the town had a population of about 211,000 and has helped manage the town’s growth to a current size of about 289,000.
He was tasked with bringing the town out of a budget deficit driven by the aftermath of the Great Recession and Valley-wide collapse of the housing market.
Gilbert, which covers about 72 square miles, is expected to reach buildout around 2032.
Glendale, which is around 65 square miles, has a population of about 250,000 and its General Plan does not project a buildout year.
Phelps, who is staying on as Glendale’s city manager until January, is credited with fostering that city’s development in an effort to make it a business hub in the West Valley.
“Under his leadership, the city significantly improved financially and operationally. Phelps has placed a priority on creating a robust business sector by establishing Glendale as a major employment hub,” said the release announcing the two finalists for his job.
“Glendale’s consistently recognized by business leaders as one of the most business-friendly cities in the Valley. This is evidenced by the more than $3 billion of private sector investment over the past several years.”
In posting the job for its next city manager, Glendale City Council said:
“The current City Manager has developed a forward-thinking team that is considered a model within the Valley. The City Council would like its next City Manager to build on this foundation of success and not only find ways to maintain the momentum but also create strategies to take the City to the next level.”
It touted its reputation as “Arizona’s sports and entertainment destination,” given the presence of State Farm Stadium, which has been a venue for four Super Bowls, other major sporting events and numbers concerts by major bands and performers.
“As the largest city in the West Valley, Glendale is considered the model of organizational exceptionalism and is frequently consulted by its peers on common issues or challenges,” the city council job search document stated, citing 15 specific programs and initiatives it expects the next city manager to continue or tackle.
“The City is seeking a collaborative, proactive, and proven top executive candidate to serve as the next City Manager,” it continued, citing over two dozen qualities, traits and skills it is seeking in a new town manager.
“Experience in economic development, budget, finance, capital improvement programs, and/or development services is desired,” it states.
“This opportunity would be ideal for an individual who is an existing city manager with similar experience in the issues and opportunities identified herein. An experienced assistant or deputy city manager in another jurisdiction with a comparable sized city and/or organization may be considered, and with experience as stated.”
Unknown Speaker 0:03
It’s more than just a job, it’s more than just challenging government. And had started my career right out of college and city government, and hadn’t anticipated making a career out of it, but really was drawn to it. It’s more than just a job. It’s more than just challenging work. Things we do make our communities a better place to live, a better place to work.
In a two-minute town video posted two years ago titled “A Day in the Life of of Gilbert’s Town Manager,” Banger called managing growth “one of the biggest areas of focus we have right now.
“We’re currently managing our way through a drought and making sure this community can again be resilient throughout that period of time,” he said.
“He cited other major developments such as the Heritage District, stating, “they are seeds that were planted decades before I got to Gilbert, and we are just now having the opportunity to realize that vision that they had so many years ago.
“And there are many things we do, from an infrastructure planning standpoint, that we’re going to start the process for these projects and these initiatives, but it’s going to be successive generations of leaders that are going to see them through to completion, as well as maintain a very high level of quality on those projects and those initiatives into the future.”