“I am thrilled to announce the selection of Mike Gebhart as our new city manager,” Fairborn Mayor Dan Kirkpatrick said in released statement Tuesday night. “Mike has been part of the Fairborn team since February 2012 and is seen by the city council and staff as a strong and dedicated leader.”
He replaces Rob Anderson, who served as city manager from 2017 until his resignation effective Dec. 31. Anderson last month appointed Gebhart acting city manager.
“I am honored and thrilled to be selected as the new city manager,” Gebhart said in the city’s statement. “I look forward to working with the community, city council and city staff to continue to make Fairborn a city in motion.”
The city said it is working to fill the vacancy created by Gebhart’s promotion.
The contract, which runs through Dec. 31, 2025, includes an annual salary of $176,000 and a $6,000 automobile allowance each year, records show.
Gebhart, a Centerville resident and Wright State University graduate, is not required to live in Fairborn, but it is “highly encouraged,” the contract states. The city will give him up to $7,500 to relocate, according to the document.
Council will increase the base salary and other benefits on an annual basis, but has discretion on specific amounts, the contract states.
If he is terminated within the contract’s guidelines, the city will provide “a minimum severance payment equal to six months salary but no more than one year” of the approved rate, the agreement states.
But if Gebhart is removed for “any reason not related to performance,” city council must pay him severance in “a lump sum cash payment” equal to a year’s salary.
A 30-day notice is required should Gebhart resign unless council and he agree otherwise, according to the contract.
For the past seven years Gebhart has served as the assistant city manager and economic development director. In addition to these roles has worked as the executive director of the Fairborn Development Corp. and the interim executive director of the Wright-Patterson Regional Council of Governments, according to the city.
Gebhart has also worked for Bethel Twp. in Miami County and code enforcement officer for the city of Kettering.
Gebhart earned a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wright State and is a Centerville High School graduate.
