Bloomington's new deputy city manager said he started looking to leave his hometown of Decatur once Tim Gleason left as city manager to take the same job in Bloomington last July.
Billy Tyus has followed Gleason to Bloomington after working in Decatur city government for 18 years.
“It seemed like the perfect fit for us,” Tyus said of his family of four. “It’s as though this opportunity showed up especially for us.”
Tyus said many communities face many of the same challenges, but he’s not seeking any cookie-cutter solutions.
“There are very similar issues we all are dealing with,” Tyus said. “Things like infrastructure repairs, rising costs and finding ways to deal with shrinking revenues, things like that.”
Tyus started his job in Bloomington on Thursday. He said he plans to meet with city staff and the community to get acclimated on what the city’s priorities should be.
“I come in the door with an open mind and open thoughts about the positives and the issues we have to work on,” Tyus said. “I don’t come in with any preconceived notions.”
Tyus said Decatur has reinvigorated its downtown in the last five to seven years, in part because of a city-funded $14 million streetscape plan; and it has transitioned its economy from manufacturing to the service sector following the closing of the Bridgestone-Firestone plant and other job losses.
Bloomington is hosting a meet-and-greet for Tyus at 5 p.m. before the city council meeting at 6.
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