New West Haven official managing city’s growth, helping create vision
Matthew Jensen, West Haven's new city manager, is photographed Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, outside West Haven's municipal building.
Matthew Jensen, West Haven's new city manager, is photographed Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, outside West Haven's municipal building.
WEST HAVEN — Underscoring West Haven’s rapid growth and the increasing complexity of running the city, local leaders have brought on a city manager to help with day-to-day operations.
Leaders have wrestled with the fast pace of development and what some say is a change in the city’s character as more and more people have moved to the locale in the heart of western Weber County’s agricultural community. The hiring of Matthew Jensen — finalized last week — aims to help them get a handle on things.
“We’ve got to find the right balance and the right fit,” Jensen said Tuesday from his office, still spare and largely unfurnished as he transitions into the new job.
Helping West Haven leaders fine tune a strategic vision for the city and create a brand will be among his key priorities. The seemingly contradictory tasks of maintaining the city’s hometown ambiance while helping spur commercial growth, too, will figure in his duties. “Just being a well-rounded city is a big aspect in my mind,” said Jensen, who has roots in Utah but most recently served as administrator of the village of Perry in New York.
The hiring will cost the city some $175,000 in pay and benefits, but West Haven Mayor Sharon Bolos says it’s worth it. Bolos and the five-member City Council were unanimous in the decision to hire Jensen and he formally started Sept. 16 after the council approved his contract.
“I think it’s going to move us forward,” Bolos said, citing Jensen’s professional expertise in helping run a city. Before the New York job, Jensen served as risk and procurement manager in Summit County, also managing special capital projects there.
He’s in the process of meeting with West Haven City Council members one by one to get a more detailed view from each of the priority issues. But he met with them as part of the interview process and at least one thing seems clear — West Haven doesn’t have a municipal property tax and city leaders want him to help make sure it stays that way.
“I think he understands the council doesn’t want one,” Bolos said. Part of his job, she went on, will be to help identify other sources of revenue, if and when needed.
That, according to City Councilperson Nina Morse, is where encouraging business growth comes in, increasing the stream of sales tax revenue to the city and creating local shopping options for residents. She hopes Jensen can come up with a strategy to help entice businesses to West Haven and spur economic development. West Haven and Marriott-Slaterville are the only Weber County cities without property taxes.
City Councilperson Rob Vanderwood hopes Jensen can help the city achieve “controlled growth,” not the sort of go-go residential expansion that has been the norm and, for some, a headache that threatens West Haven’s countrified charms. West Haven grew 35.3% between 2010 and 2019, going from 10,272 residents to 16,109, making it the fastest-growing locale in Weber County. It was the third-fastest growing city in all of Utah between 2017 and 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
’VISION AND BRANDING'Jensen will take on some of the duties now held by Bolos and the city council members, alleviating their workload. But he won’t be the top decision-maker.
“I report to the City Council, serve at the will of the council and the mayor,” he said. “The elected officials will still be the determining voice for the city.”
Still, being on the job full time and with his background in government, he’ll arguably be able to better focus on the issues leaders have wrestled with. That said, he didn’t pinpoint a precise plan of action as he eases into the post, though he emphasized the import of developing “a vision and branding” for West Haven.
Creating a catchy slogan to embody West Haven could be part of that, but it goes deeper to the sort of community leaders and residents want the city to be. If such a vision is in place, policy decisions, he said, become easier.
Bolos said city leaders have crafted a tentative strategic plan to guide growth in West Haven, though it hasn’t yet been formally accepted or publicly released. With Jensen on board, city leaders will give it a final perusal before implementation.
Per the contract approved on Sept. 16, Jensen will have a base annual salary of $95,000, with a 5.27% raise to around $100,000 if he gets a positive performance evaluation after six months. On top of that, he’s to get $6,600 a year in car and telephone expense money.
