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City Manager Unfiltered

City Manager Unfiltered

By: Joe Turner
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About this listen

 City Manager Unfiltered is a podcast by a city manager for city managers. I am your host, Joe Turner, and I’m on a mission to build a community for ambitious city managers. I want to provide you with the career tools and resources to help make you a better executive so you can rack up victories, polish your resume, dominate interviews, land your dream job, and win your contract negotiations. If you are a city manager looking to level up, check out my podcast, City Manager Unfiltered. Hit that subscribe button today so you don’t miss an episode.Copyright 2023 All rights reserved. Career Success Economics Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • We Carry the Trauma to Our Next Job with Tim Rundel | Ep. 111

    We Carry the Trauma to Our Next Job with Tim Rundel | Ep. 111
    Jun 18 2025

    We continue our conversation with the always entertaining Tim Rundel in this second installment.

    Tim has not just seen a thing or two, he has personally endured some incredibly challenging and professionally traumatic situations. In this powerful episode, he talks about how we as city managers carry the trauma of abuse and betrayal to our next position and that it is quite easy to become "gun shy" or lose your self-confidence.

    He opens the interview by recounting a conversation with a peer who has recently experienced a couple of brutal and extremely short tenures. And toward the end of the conversation Tim talks about how we as executives need to value ourselves and appreciate our worth. He says "we're the cookie" and we should not be giving it away.

    If you did not get a chance to catch my first interview with Tim way back in Episode 8 of the podcast, it is a must listen. It is one of the funniest interviews I have ever done and in it we talk about his efforts to get a sitcom about a small town city manager made a la The Office Space. You can check that out here: https://www.citymanagerunfiltered.com/e/city-of-weed-sitcom-about-city-manager-life-tim-rundel-ep-08/

    SHOW NOTES

    Tim Rundel's LinkedIn Profile

    Links to Tim's Documentaries:

    Brother Valentine: Producer/Director An Oklahoma family is ripped apart after their 15-year-old son brutally murders his older sister in 1974. Controversy swirls around the case after his parents decide to hire a prominent defense attorney to keep him out of jail. https://vimeo.com/147941222 Calls to Okies: The Park Grubbs Story. Executive Producer. In the early 1980's a group of Oklahoma teenagers mastered the art of prank phone calls and became legends. : https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/10/03/park-grubbs-story/ The B'CATS (Bryan County Alternative Transportation Society): Producer/Director Venturing into the lives of a peculiar subculture in southern Oklahoma, a former city manager encounters a group of locals who have found an unconventional means of transportation through the use of riding lawn mowers. https://youtu.be/VCuR7oWVYVQ AAME Waitlist Sign Up Link: https://app.youform.com/forms/f9ulo0uh

    AAME JOB BOARD:

    The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/

    SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

    1. Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
    2. If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
    3. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.

    Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page

    City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!

    Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 3 mins
  • It Just Takes One to Ruin It with Tim Rundel | Ep. 110

    It Just Takes One to Ruin It with Tim Rundel | Ep. 110
    Jun 11 2025

    One new council member can turn everything on its head and send you heading for the exits when you are a city manager. Tim Rundel, the former city manager for the City of Weed, recounts his experience with this elected official who also happened to be married to one of his employees.

    We talk about the importance of building relationships with your governing body, how elected officials need to police themselves and call out bad behavior in the name of defending their city manager, and how city attorneys are not your friend.

    This is part one of a two part series.

    If you did not get a chance to catch my first interview with Tim way back in Episode 8 of the podcast, it is a must listen. It is one of the funniest interviews I have ever done and in it we talk about his efforts to get a sitcom about a small town city manager made a la The Office Space. You can check that out here: https://www.citymanagerunfiltered.com/e/city-of-weed-sitcom-about-city-manager-life-tim-rundel-ep-08/

    SHOW NOTES

    Tim Rundel's LinkedIn Profile

    Links to Tim's Documentaries:

    Brother Valentine: Producer/Director An Oklahoma family is ripped apart after their 15-year-old son brutally murders his older sister in 1974. Controversy swirls around the case after his parents decide to hire a prominent defense attorney to keep him out of jail. https://vimeo.com/147941222 Calls to Okies: The Park Grubbs Story. Executive Producer. In the early 1980's a group of Oklahoma teenagers mastered the art of prank phone calls and became legends. : https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/10/03/park-grubbs-story/ The B'CATS (Bryan County Alternative Transportation Society): Producer/Director Venturing into the lives of a peculiar subculture in southern Oklahoma, a former city manager encounters a group of locals who have found an unconventional means of transportation through the use of riding lawn mowers. https://youtu.be/VCuR7oWVYVQ AAME Waitlist Sign Up Link: https://app.youform.com/forms/f9ulo0uh

    AAME JOB BOARD:

    The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/

    SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

    1. Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
    2. If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
    3. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.

    Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page

    City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!

    Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Brian Daily: You're Getting Screwed on Your Property Insurance | Ep. 109

    Brian Daily: You're Getting Screwed on Your Property Insurance | Ep. 109
    Jun 4 2025

    Brian Daily was the first person I ever hired as a city manager and it was one of the most impactful decisions I have ever made in my professional career. He is an amazing, inquisitive public servant who continually seeks to provide value to taxpayers. He is insanely curious and truly embodies the ethos of a "working executive" who is not afraid to roll his sleeves up and do the heavy lifting required of a small town executive.

    In this episode, we talk about three major areas of accomplishment as the city administrator for the Kansas community of Medicine Lodge.

    • Analysis of Property Insurance
    • Innovative approach to solving a daycare crisis in his community
    • How asking questions like a three year old about his airport saved taxpayers over a million dollars

    Daily is a rising star and you are going to enjoy this episode.

    SHOW NOTES

    Brian Daily's LinkedIn Profile

    AAME Waitlist Sign Up Link: https://app.youform.com/forms/f9ulo0uh

    AAME JOB BOARD:

    The American Association of Municipal Executives has a free job board exclusively focused on executive and senior level local government recruitments. To post a job, go to: https://jobs.aame.org/

    SUPPORT THE PODCAST:

    1. Subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter hosted on LinkedIn. It is called the "City Manager News & Job Board" newsletter and can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/city-manager-rtrs-job-board-7164683251112992768/
    2. If you would like to support the podcast by making a donation, please use the "Buy Me A Coffee" link.
    3. Please rate and review the podcast on Apple or your preferred platform if you enjoy the show. It helps tremendously. But more importantly, refer your friends and peers to podcast through personal conversations and posts on your social media platforms.

    Joe Turner's LinkedIn Page

    City Manager Unfiltered YouTube Page - Subscribe Today!

    Note: Page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
    Show More Show Less
    58 mins
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