Just like Brett Favre, outgoing Rio Rancho City Manager Jim Payne is not ready to pick up the golf clubs, and hang up his suit and tie.
Payne, who announced his resignation on July 22, said he is not ready for retirement.
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Payne, a Wisconsin native whose mother lives in Green Bay, is a huge Packers fan and admires Favre.
But, just like old No. 4, Payne says he, too, has more to offer.
“I have been a city manager for 30 years and I’m healthy and active and still have a lot to offer,” Payne said. “I have very much dedicated myself to keeping up with the trends and philosophies in city administration.”
Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack agrees that Payne has more to offer.
“I think Mr. Payne has strong attributes that will help out a lot of communities,” Swisstack said. “His willingness to be a team player is important and that will help out other communities.”
Payne has been credentialed by the International City/County Management Association. Most cities across the country, according to Payne, only want managers who have the ICMA credentials.
“I take continuous education seriously and maintain a high level of knowledge as a professional,” Payne said. “I like to keep abreast of current trends.”
Payne came to Rio Rancho in June of 2007. In his resignation letter, he indicated his final day would be Sept. 30.
So, in the meantime Payne is hunting for a job and he doesn’t mind where he ends up.
“Whatever happens happens. I want something that is open,” Payne said. “It’s a sellers market, so anything of interest I will take.”
Most of Payne’s family is in Wisconsin, but his daughter is in Phoenix working on her doctorate in child psychology. He also has friends in Florida, where he enjoys scuba diving.
So, what brought Payne all the way from Waukesha, Wis. to Rio Rancho? Well, he said he needed some spice in his life.
“I had a good job in Waukesha. I had been there for nine years and I was very happy, but things were routine and just going along.” Payne said. “I wanted to go somewhere exciting and challenging and with Rio Rancho that was available.”
However, Payne had no idea what was about to happen in Rio Rancho.
He remembers packing at his home in Waukesha in May of 2007 when the phone rang. It was city attorney and interim City Manager Jim Babin telling him that Mayor Kevin Jackson had been missing for a few days.
Payne moved down to Rio Rancho and more strange events happened that have been well chronicled by The Observer in previous editions.
“Rio Rancho was much more than I had anticipated,” Payne said. “The mayor leaving under a cloud and Mike Williams was interim mayor for six months, so you couldn’t plan on anything. Everything was unsettable.”
Move contributed to turmoil
According to Payne, if having the turmoil at the top wasn’t enough, the city’s offices moved from Southern Boulevard to the middle of nowhere up to Paseo del Volcan. It wasn’t the best timing to get acquainted with a new city, a new state and a new culture.
But, Payne said there was work to do, so he did it. He said his primary objective was to settle the city’s staff down and be a calming presence to ensure smooth sailing.
“Everyone was upset, and they didn’t know what was going to happen next,” Payne said. “It was a pretty unsettling time for everybody. My primary challenge was to settle things down. I don’t think people really understood how much it affected people’s jobs and lives.”
With all the changes, including having a new mayor and new city manager, Payne said there wasn’t much innovation.
“You get a new boss and you just don’t know what to do, so you do your job the best you can and not take as many risks,” Payne said. “People draw back on themselves and they aren’t as innovative as they otherwise would be.”
To be successful as a city manager, Payne said it is necessary to delegate tasks to others.
“I look to other people. I don’t look at myself,” Payne said. “My job is facilitating others. I put in the proceedings and the culture.”
Mayor Tom Swisstack said that Payne helped keep the city focused on the big picture.
“He brought some stability to our city government,” Swisstack said. “He helped keep us focused on projects such as HP (Hewlett Packard), CNM and UNM. He also began to help paint a vision on where and how government should operate in response to its citizens.”
Business as usual
“Eighty percent of my job is dealing with everyday things,” Payne said. “How to pay for this? How to do that? And that is still going on. We still have to finalize the contract with HP and in mid-August, the staff will have its first strategic planning session.”
Payne said he has no ill will against the city, and unlike his predecessor Jim Palenick, he will lay no legal claims against the city.
He said he is willing to work with the new city manager to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Payne will be compensated per his agreement
Payne is not going away empty handed. He and Swisstack negotiated a generous severance package, which includes 10 month’s salary, plus benefits. Payne’s annual salary was $121,000.
Payne’s original contract called for six months of pay, plus a month for each year spent. Swisstack said Payne’s resignation was mutual and that Payne is needed on a few projects.
“I need to make sure some of the projects are completed and he has shown a willingness to stay a little bit longer to complete those projects,” Swisstack said.
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