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City Council has decided who will be temporarily filling its empty seat at the center of City Hall, looking to match Elgin’s managerial needs with comparable experience.
Isaac Turner was first named interim city manager after a brief deliberation in executive session during the Jan. 7 council meeting. Mayor Theresa McShan was unanimously authorized to enter into contract with Turner, effective immediately, and replace Beau Perry, who began the year serving as acting city manager following the removal of Tom Mattis late last year.
Turner, who has more than four decades of experience in city management in Texas and Florida, most recently served as interim city manager in Leander, population 92,000.
“Issac’s experience with growing communities of all sizes, strategic planning, economic development initiatives, community-wide visioning, technology and infrastructure projects, makes him an excellent leader for our outstanding team at the city of Elgin as we navigate through 2025 and hire a permanent City Manager,” McShan said.
McShan has repeatedly emphasized the city’s commitment to finding a lasting replacement with a thorough nationwide search, assuring transparency and community involvement in the selection process.
“We won’t waste time and will make sure that we get the best that we possibly can get,” she said. “Be rest assured, we are considering all input and actions to make for sure we get the right (city manager).”
According to the council, Turner helped ensure the progression of critical water and street capital projects during his time in Leander, enhancing economic development efforts.
As interim city manager in Hutto, where the 41,000 residents mirror Elgin’s projected population, Turner established city council strategic goals and values, initiated master planning for water and wastewater systems, hired a new police chief and progressed major development projects, McShan added.
Turner also served as city manager in Taylor from 2014 to 2019, where he focused on infrastructural improvements, economic vitality and quality of life, he said, and guided the identification of water and wastewater improvements and recruited the first paid fire chief for Bridgeport.
In Florida, Turner negotiated an airport longrange plan, improved development processes and services, rewrote a comprehensive land development plan, established an emergency operations center that responded to three hurricanes and expanded the industrial tax base, city representatives said of his accomplishments.
