Sylvia Carrillo – Bastrop City Manager
From the Austin American-Statesman
Sylvia Carrillo has always had to work hard. From “living in the shadows, under the radar” as a child due to having an immigrant parent who was undocumented, to finishing her college degrees in between work and on weekends and going on to become one of only two Latinas in Texas in 2019 with an International City/County Management Association designation, Carrillo is now at the helm of Bastrop’s city management.
In September, the Bastrop City Council announced Carrillo was picked to serve as the city’s manager. “I am pleased to welcome Sylvia Carrillo to Bastrop,” Mayor Connie Schroeder said in the September announcement. “Council has the highest expectations of her and our support for her was demonstrated by the unanimous vote.”
Carrillo, who will earn $180,000 annually, began in her new role Oct. 3.
Her first two weeks on the job have been very busy, but she said the city has a collective group of people and organizations working toward its prosperity and growth in a managed and organized way, as exemplified in the city’s revamped land-use code that’s aimed at guiding development through responsible planning and preservation of Bastrop’s unique character. She said the city is also committed to investing in its infrastructure, and “as we get down to the details of execution, my goal is that my skill set can keep us all moving forward in a positive and fiscally responsible manner.”
“It’s an incredibly talented and multifaceted staff and external partnerships that make this town so awesome,” Carrillo told The Advertiser. “Everyone does more than their fair share and then some! The devotion to the town is palpable and something truly amazing to be a part of.”
But, she said, the city is experiencing growing pains and the demands for services from residents and corporations moving to the area when there are taxing drought conditions and limited water availability until the city’s water and wastewater treatment plants come online in the next 18 months has proven to be one of the city’s biggest challenges.
“This places incredible demands on service needs that show up as monetary increases to the average resident,” Carrillo explained. “I want to minimize those impacts by helping the council to ensure those impacts are minimal and fiscally prudent and sustainable. In short, managing the growth with the cost so it’s not sticker shock to the residents. The shared water resource is everyone’s business!”
In her first year on the job, Carrillo said she’ll focus on ensuring the new water and wastewater plants are constructed and operational on schedule, work through any pain points from the new development code, retain and attract a talented workforce, work with the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation and commercial partners to attract the businesses and employers the city needs, and submit a balanced budget with minimal impact to the residents, among countless other initiatives.
Bastrop County Beacon: News with Integrity, Because Facts Matter.
http://www.bastropcountybeacon.com
Keep informed on events and situations in Bastrop County by following the Bastrop County Beacon’s Facebook page!
