Wilmer welcomes new city administrator

WILMER – The City of Wilmer welcomed its new city administrator on Feb. 1.

Rona Stringfellow hails from the neighboring city of Lancaster, where she spent the last 15 years in a range of jobs.

Her last position in Lancaster was that of Deputy Chief Administrative Officer and Interim Finance Director.

During her time in that position she not only wrote an award-winning application that gave Lancaster the honor of being named one of 10 “2019 All-American Cities,” but she also was instrumental in the city’s receiving a $2.1-million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation, Green Ribbon program for enhanced streetscape along Dallas Avenue.

String fellow also oversaw the implementation of the Beltline Illumination project to install streetlights, received all five transparency stars from the Comptroller of Public Accounts; only 18 Texas other cities have received this recognition, and she managed the implementation of an upgrade to the streets pavement management system.

“The City of Wilmer is a small, growing community within the Dallas County Inland Port. There is so much development opportunity, and I am looking forward to being a part of that,” Stringfellow said.

The new city administrator also brings the knowledge of finance, since she led the fiscal services of the City of Lancaster including accounting, budgeting, financial reporting and auditing for the past few years.

She was also in charge of handling the oversight of the depart-ments of equipment and facilities services, quality of life and cultural services and public works and the Lancaster Regional Airport, Countryview Golf Club, Lancaster Veteran’s Memorial Library and the Visitor’s Center and State Auxiliary Museum.

Before taking the role of deputy chief administrative officer and interim finance director, Stringfellow was the City of Lancaster’s assistant city manager for four years, managing director of development services and public works for two years, director of development services for five years, director of planning and housing for a year, senior planner for two years and planner for one year.

Before she came to Lancaster, she worked for the City of McKinney for five years as that city’s planner.

She is known for being a “results-driven, customer focused, visionary with a proven record of accomplishment in planning and development, and municipal government administration.”

Stringfellow received her Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Dallas, and her Bachelor of Science in Technology at the University of Houston.

She is a member of the International City/County Managers Association-Credentialed Manager and the American Institute of Certified Planners.

She has a vast amount of training including Leadership North Texas, New and Emerging City Managers for Finance; North Central Texas Council of Governments, Public Executive Institute, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs; Leadership ICMA, International City/County Management Association and Leadership Southwest.

“It is indeed an honor to serve the citizens and the City Council of the City of Wilmer,” Stringfellow concluded.

“I am looking forward to continuing established strategic partnerships with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Dallas County, the cities of Lancaster, Ferris, Hutchins, Palmer and Dallas; the development community and established industrial and logistics companies.”