Council voted unanimously then to approve the hiring of Gary L. Burkholder for the position.
For nearly four years, Burkholder has been the administrator for the village of Hartford, which is located in the northwest corner of Licking County.
Burkholder will start July 1, and his salary will be about $95,000 annually.
“This is the kind of position that I’ve been looking for, for a long time. I felt the fit was right after the first interview with council,” Burkholder said at the meeting. “I felt that we were on the same page.”
“The chiefs and the department heads met the candidates at all the different interviews, and we asked for their feedback, and they were very positive about you just in the short time they visited with you,” said Councilman Bruce Garber to Burkholder.
Brookville officials received more than 40 applications for the position.
Councilwoman Annie Kirklin told Burkholder that he stood out from the rest of the candidates because he appeared to have “forward thinking.”
“Which is what we’re all committed to doing is being more forward thinking, more strategic in our planning and being more aggressive about where we want the city to go and putting the things in place to get there,” Kirklin said.
“Gary mentioned to us things that we should have been doing,” said Councilman Mike Duncan. “I think Gary is going to do us a fine job.”
Burkholder said the small-town feel of Brookville and the city’s “high dedication to a high level of service to the residents” is what prompted him to accept the position.
“ I realized that it was going to be a good fit for me and a place that I would want to be,” Burkholder said.
John Wright, the city’s former city manager, retired in May after serving the city in various jobs for 46 years.
Wright, 63, became the city manager in 1981 when his father Robert Wright retired from the position. John Wright was the assistant city manager at the time.
Burkholder is a native of Beaverdam Village in Allen County. His resume includes a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s of sociology from Bowling Green State University. He is also a former Pickerington city councilman and Etna Township trustee.
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