BONHAM - Bill Shipp is back working in familiar territory. That is, if you acknowledge he actually left the region. On Wednesday, Shipp formally assumed the role of Bonham City Manager.
From 2004-2009, he served as City Manager in Commerce. He was then hired for the same position in Royse City, which ended June 16 when he submitted his resignation letter.
Shipp tells KETR, “Coincidental this job [Bonham] came open. Well actually it was open before I even resigned – that isn’t the reason I resigned there.”
According to the Royse City Herald-Banner, the city council met in executive session on June 12 to evaluate Shipp’s job performance, after which a special meeting was called to consider “disciplinary action up to and including termination as a result of the city manager’s evaluation.”
Moments later, Shipp announced he would step down. That weekend, council accepted the resignation by a 5-2 vote.
He told the paper, “I have nothing but positive things to say about the city. I enjoyed my time here and I believe we made some very positive strides.”
Shipp will now look to making positive strides in Bonham, replacing Corby Alexander, who accepted the same role in La Porte, Texas.
Shipp says, “I’ve known Bonham since I was up here in Commerce and coming up here to eat and that sort of thing. I’ve always liked Bonham. The job was open and I spoke with some people about it. They told me it was a great place to be, they have a good staff here and good city council. And I thought, ‘well, it’s a good council, good staff, good place to live; what more could you ask for?’”
He added that it comes down to a good staff and council to be able to manage a city effectively.
Shipp says the immediate challenge is finalizing the city budget. He’ll also work to repair city streets and bring in new development.
“There’s always development challenges. I know Bonham has some opportunity on a couple of people that are interested in locating here and doing some small developments and that’s something the community certainly welcomes and something I’ll be working on.”
