Prior to joining Fairfield, Wendling had spent eight years as the manager of Silverton, a Hamilton County community that is now a village, with a population of nearly 5,000. But Wendling has been looking for an opportunity to manage a city of Fairfield’s size, with its population of more than 42,000.
“I’m excited and I’m grateful. I really do appreciate the opportunity that is being presented to me. It’s something that I’ve been working toward my whole career,” Wendling said.
Even before he worked in Fairfield, Wendling knew the community having attended city manager meetings there and gotten to know Art Pizzano, the current city manager who will retire in April after 17 years in the job.
“Fairfield is a really great community for a lot of reasons. It’s very broad, so you have very entry-level housing and very upscale housing. You have mom and pop businesses all the way to your corporate headquarters. It really has great depth. The facilities here are phenomenal. I’d been to the Arts Center many times. Whenever we had a city manager’s lunch here, it was really kind of a destination,” Wendling said.
Having made Fairfield his destination for five years, Wendling has developed a hands-on style of management — a style he intends to continue in his new job. When Fairfield has an issue with a certain road, for example, he likes to go out to the site and see for himself what needs to be addressed.
“I really like to know exactly what I’m dealing with,” he said.
As the lead city manager, Wendling will become more the “external representative” of the city, but “the nice thing for me is I’ve done this before.”
Since it was announced that Pizzano would be stepping down, Mayor Steve Miller has already gotten feedback that the city has made the right choice in promoting Wendling.
“Mark is a very personable person. He’s well-respected and well-liked … he has an exceptional skill set in in dealing with personnel and human relations and hiring, and that’s something we’ll need as other folks will be retiring,” Miller said.
Wendling’s 2014 salary was $122,162. His contract for city manager, approved by city council Monday, stipulates an annual salary of $145,000. Pizzano’s 2014 salary was $204,880.
The city will recruit for a new assistant city manager, with an eye toward filling that position by mid-summer.
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