After a unanimous vote, Kelsye Milliron, the city’s Fiscal Director for the last 2 years was promoted and sworn in as the City of Greensburg’s new city administrator during the May city council meeting. The city’s previous administrator for 15 years, Sue Trout, announced at the beginning of May that she was resigning to take a position with a consulting firm in Pittsburgh. Sue’s last day is the 26th and will help with the transition. Milliron isn’t the only position changing, 6 promotions occurred during the meeting leaving 2 positions, city health inspector and meter-maid open and taking applications.
The City Administrator is the chief administrative officer for Greensburg and works closely with all other supervisors to oversee daily functions and special projects going on within the city limits. They receive and follow through on complaints and requests received from citizens. They serve as a liaison between supervisors, employees and Council members as well as also maintain all personnel records and act as a Human Resource Director. Not only that but they receive and follow through on complaints and requests received from citizens and community members.
We sat down with Kelsye to learn more about her, to discuss the new role she will be taking on in the City of Greensburg and being a leader in the community.
Tell us about yourself.
“I was born and raised in Greensburg. I graduated from Greensburg Salem High School and then attended Washington & Jefferson College where I obtained a BA in Accounting. After college graduation, I worked as an Auditor for Schneider Downs & Company (a public accounting firm downtown). However, I knew that someday I wanted to work in governmental accounting from my previous experiences interning for Westmoreland County. Whenever I saw the Accounts Payable position open in the City, I knew it was the perfect opportunity for me to move back to Greensburg and start my career in government.”
How long have you worked for The City of Greensburg?
“I’ve worked for the City of Greensburg for 4 years. I started in the role of Accounts Payable Accountant and then a little over 2 years ago was promoted to the role of Fiscal Director.”
Do you think the transition from someone who was in the position of City Administrator for 15 years to you will be difficult?
“It will be quite an undertaking, but I am fortunate enough to have amazing council members, supervisors and employees surrounding me who will make that transition a little easier. Additionally, I have a great relationship with Sue and know that if I need any advice from her in the future she will be there for me.”
What are you hoping to accomplish in the first few months?
“Well, we have 6 promotions occurring at the Council Meeting. (May 14th 2018 meeting) I think the first order of business is going to be to make sure everyone gets trained in their new position while also training the person taking over their old position. We also have a lot of big projects ongoing currently that I want to continue to make headway with in the first few months. I think the big project on everyone’s mind is the Veterans Memorial Pool renovation. We are hoping to move forward and award a bid in the coming month so that work can begin. Also, in an effort to reduce paper usage at the City, we are currently working on implementing a document imaging software. I believe this software will not only reduce paper waste, but will also allow for a more efficient work environment as all documents will be available digitally.”
Do you think the addition of some young professionals and newer employees in higher positions and in City Council will make an impact?
“I think when you have anyone new stepping into a position, they bring along different ideas and ways that they’d like to see things operate. Over the past few years we have had a tremendous amount of change in personnel within the City, which has brought along with it fresh ideas, new ways to do things. I believe that this trend will continue as current employees stepping into new positions figure out what works the best for their work style.”
Greensburg seems to be going through a slow revitalization, do you think the city will be able to maintain that or increase it with the change in positions?
“I expect the supervisory team and council will continue to work together to ensure revitalization occurs within the City.”
What committees are you a part of? What is one thing that you are hoping to make a somewhat immediate impact on?
“I am a member of the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library Board of Directors, the City’s Safety Committee, Community Days Committee and recently have joined Central Westmoreland Habitat for Humanity’s PR/Fundraising Committee. I think one of the things I am most excited about seeing is what changes are going to be occurring at the Library with the passing of the referendum in Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg. I believe this will be a great opportunity for the Library to expand programs, services and possibly fit in some physical upgrades to the Library.”
What are you favorite things to do in Greensburg?
“This is a tough one for me. Taking walks downtown with my pup, grabbing food and drinks with friends at all of the amazing restaurants and bars, attending SummerSounds concerts in the summertime, going for a workout and seeing friendly faces at the Aerobic Center at Lynch Field.”
What do hope to see come in as a business in the future?
“We’d all love to see a Downtown Hotel come in. I think it would be wonderful if people could come into town for say a show at The Palace Theatre or an event at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and be able to walk to dinner and their event and then back to their hotel afterwards! We’re surrounded by a lot of great breweries in this area, but I believe a downtown brewery would attract a lot of young professionals and craft beer lovers. And this is not necessarily a business, but I think it’s amazing the amount of art that has been popping up all around Greensburg. I would love to see that continue (and expand) into the future!”
How would you suggest the community get involved in the city more?
“Keep an eye out for any board openings (recreation, HARB, etc). If you have input, ideas, or opinions about a project or something else going on in the City, let us know! There is always a public comments portion to every Council meeting.”
We are excited to see what the promotion of Kelsye Milliron will bring to the City of Greensburg and hope that the revitalization and increase in businesses moving into the area will continue. Looking to get involved more or concerned about something going on in our community? Attend a Council meeting, they occur the second Monday of every month at 7pm at City Hall.
