By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The current director of development services for the city of Marietta, Georgia, will serve as Alabaster’s next city manager beginning at the end December after he was hired during a late-November City Council meeting.

City Council members voted unanimously during their Nov. 28 meeting to hire Brian Binzer to the city manager position, which has been vacant since former Alabaster city manager George Henry resigned in August. He will earn a $120,000 yearly salary.

Binzer, who will begin working in Alabaster on Dec. 30, has been serving as Marietta’s director of development services for the past 11 years, and previously worked as a planner in Albany, Georgia, and Ackworth, Georgia. He is a Montgomery native, and holds master’s degrees in community planning and public administration from Auburn University.

Binzer was one of three finalists City Council members interviewed for the position in early November.

“I enjoy being a part of a team, but I’d like to lead a team,” Binzer told council members during his Nov. 10 interview, noting Alabaster recently approved an “awesome” comprehensive development plan. “I think I bring the understanding that you need someone as a point person to lead the staff. But on the other side, you’ve got to have someone that’s responsive to the elected officials.”

Through his position in Marietta, Binzer has overseen economic development, planning and zoning, code enforcement and community development for more than a decade.

“His strengths align with the areas we are constantly improving on,” Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon said after the Nov. 28 meeting. “He has a lot of experience in planning and zoning, economic development and the comprehensive planning process. We are really excited about his experience in those areas, and that he brings a fresh perspective from out of state.”

According to the city manager job description the City Council approved on Sept. 12, Binzer will “serve as the chief administrative officer and coordinate day-to-day administrative operations of the city. The city manager works under the guidance and direction of the elected mayor and City Council. This position directs and supervises assigned department heads and personnel in the Administration Department.” The city manager will also serve as the city clerk.

According to the job description, the city’s IT manager, planning and zoning coordinator, administrative assistant to the mayor and all department heads except the police and fire chiefs, human resources director and treasurer report directly to the city manager.