Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps is the top executive for the city of Glendale, which is part of a growing area of Maricopa County and the sixth largest city in AZ. His responsibilities include managing day-to-day operations and policy implementation for all city departments and divisions and ensuring prudent fiscal stewardship for the city.  

Mr. Phelps was appointed in November 2015 and considers it his priority to bring effective and transparent government practices to the community he serves with an emphasis on leveraging technology and innovation.

Recognizing that it is in Glendale’s interest to have a robust business sector, his desire is that Glendale become both a major job center, and the most business-friendly city in the Valley. His focus is on encouraging initiatives that will grow the city’s economy, increase employment and encourage growth for businesses’ large and small. Glendale is a full-service community offering public safety, water, public works, library and recreation services for residents as well as offering business development services to support a strong economic base.

Mr. Phelps began a comprehensive strategic planning process using the City Council’s newly created mission, vision and value statements. The intent is that Glendale will demonstrate measurable results toward being the community of choice for residents, businesses and employees. To accomplish this work, he has introduced the Balanced Scorecard approach to lead organizational development and set priorities for city staff.

Under his leadership, the city has continued to stabilize financially and operationally after experiencing a serious fiscal crisis that occurred several years prior to his hiring. The turnaround has resulted in credit rating upgrades and a growing fund balance that has been achieved through policy reforms, growth of new revenue streams and a long-term financial plan.

Kevin Phelps is a board member of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce, an Executive Board member for the Arizona City/County Management Association (ACMA) and a member of International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

Mr. Phelps’ government leadership includes serving as the highest ranking appointed official in Pierce County, Washington, an area that includes greater Tacoma and is the states second largest county.  Prior to that, he was a deputy auditor for the Washington State Auditor’s office, and was a councilmember for the city of Tacoma, Washington.

Before his tenure in government, he had more than 30 years of experience in the private sector as a businessman, which includes being the founder and managing partner of the Landmark Convention Center in Tacoma.