Reese Goad has worked for the City of Tallahassee for more than 20 years. Prior to being appointed as Tallahassee's City Manager in September 2018, Goad served as the interim City Manager and the Deputy City Manager. Goad has fostered a culture within the organization focused on ethics and delivering high quality, affordable municipal services. He leads a highly skilled and diverse workforce sum of 4,000 employees with an unwavering dedication to be the national leader in the delivery of public service.
As City Manager, he reports directly to the City Commission and is responsible for maintaining the management functions of city government and administering the day-to-day operations. He provides oversight of the City Commission meeting agenda process, working closely with the City Commission to establish long-term strategic plans, as well as short-term targets. To guide the multifaceted operations of the largest single provider of municipal services in the region including police, fire, public transportation, utilities, parks, and more, he implemented the organization’s first overarching strategic plan. The City has achieved great success within the plan’s priority areas, which were identified by the City Commission. He is responsible for an annual budget of approximately $1 billion, which includes both the operating and capital budgets.
With a focus on meeting the needs of residents, the City has won national accolades for its efforts in recent years. The 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 Year in Review each contains highlights from the City's efforts including making Livability.com's list of Top 100 Best Places to Live and Southern Living Magazine naming Tallahassee as one of the South's Best Cities two years in a row.
As Deputy City Manager, Goad provided executive oversight for Electric and Underground Utilities, Solid Waste, Business Services, Tallahassee International Airport, StarMetro, Golf Courses and Fleet Management. In his previous role as the City's Director of Utility Business, City of Tallahassee Utilities was recognized as the No.1 Public Utility in America by the American Public Power Association in 2012, and the City's Underground Utilities Department won the prestigious Governor's Sterling Award in 2015 and Sustained Excellence Award in 2018. Additionally, the City was recognized as the "2018 Utility of the Future, Today."
Before joining the City in 2000, Goad held positions with the Florida Public Service Commission in the Bureau of Electric Regulation and Bureau of Conservations and System Planning. He serves on the board of the Florida Municipal Electric Association and is a member of the International City/County Management Association.
A native Floridian who graduated from Florida State University, he and his wife Christen have three children.
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Recent Podcast Appearances
Voices in Local Government I Episode #5: Creating One Team Identity
City Manager Reese Goad and his senior city staff discuss how shifting from siloed departments to a one team identity helped the entire city's workforce and ultimately delivers better service for residents.
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The FCCMA Podcast | Episode #62: Reese Goad - Are We Better Than We Were Yesterday?
City Manager Reese Goad sits down with Steve Vancore to have a warm discussion about the way our city is moving forward together to build a strong community in a variety of different areas.
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