Nathan Straus
CNHI
JACKSONVILLE — He had little to no experience going into a position fraught with turmoil and instability; City Manager Mo Raissi came to Jacksonville amidst a storm of local polarization and set to work restoring morale, Mayor Dr. Robert Haberle said.
Council members agree there is at least one thing which makes Raissi an effective city manager: the employees love him.
Council Member Jeff Smith said Raissi is a people person, more so than previous position holders.
“The employees like him,” Smith said. “If we ever have a problem he jumps on it.”
Public Works Director Will Cole said Raissi has done an outstanding job and really resonates with the employees of the city.
“In my 21 years of working in municipal government, I can say Mo Raissi is one of the top city managers I’ve worked for,” Cole said. “He has a good relationship with all the city employees.”
Mayor Pro-Tem and Councilmember Rob Beall said Raissi definitely brought stability to the city manager position.
“He’s results-driven and cares about getting the job done,” Beall said. “He’s done a lot to make city services more efficient.”
Beall added Raissi was integral to developing a Jacksonville parks master plan and has always brought the city budget in line with where it needs to be.
Raissi said he first decided to apply for city manager when he saw the city employees without a sense of direction.
“All of them were eager to do the job,” Raissi said, “but they felt like there was no stability.”
His goal was to give direction to the employees, and Raissi said this was what he provided. He recently received his five-year service award from the city and said in his five years he has restructured some of the city departments for improved efficiency and seen to the creation of the city’s Geographical Information Service.
“It’s general information about the city,” Raissi said. “Anything you’d need to know.”
He said the service assists with things such as finding property lines and zoning information.
Something Raissi said he’d like to continue working on extending the city’s extra territorial jurisdiction, as well as a new city hall building.
“In order for any city to grow you have to bring resources in,” Raissi said. “These resources can be as simple as more land.”
Councilmember Kenneth Melvin said when the city interviewed for the position, Raissi stood up as the best applicant in the bunch.
“He’s a very good steward of the city’s money,” Melvin said. “He came through the ranks of city government; he started on the ground and came all the way up. He identifies well with city employees.”
Melvin said Raissi likes to stay out of the limelight and let himself and his employees do their jobs.
Raissi spent 18 years working for the city of Tyler as an equipment operator in the parks and recreation department before moving to Mount Pleasant for five years as first the superintendent of public works, then the director of community services. He then came to Jacksonville as the director of public works before becoming the city manager.
Haberle said the city took a chance on a man who had no city manager experience but who seemed like a right fit — and it paid off.
“He’s steady, level-headed and calming,” Haberle said. “What he did was crush down the polarization and bring everyone to a level of stability and comfort. He’s a fair and honest leader who listens to take in the information he needs from his advisors before making the right decision.”
Haberle said Raissi always has what’s best for the city at the front of his mind.
“We are extremely fortunate to have someone like him leading the way,” he said.
Councilmember Hubert Robinson said there was friction between some of the city departments before Raissi came on the scene.
“He worked out everything,” Robinson said. “I hope we have him around for many more years.”
