Glendale council expected to hire Gilbert city manager for same role

By Richard Smith
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X: @rsmithYWV

The Glendale City Council will vote on whether to reach a city manager employment agreement with current Gilbert Town Manager Patrick Banger during its voting meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

This item was added to the agenda Monday. The council conducted a special workshop Oct. 7 to interview Banger and the other finalist for the job, current Glendale Assistant City Manager Vicki Rios, in executive session.

According to the employment agreement listed on the agenda, Banger will assume the duties of city manager Jan. 12, 2026.

“I have expressed preliminary interest in the Glendale City Manager position. I’m committed to respecting both communities and the proper evaluation process. Any decisions will be made thoughtfully by both parties after thorough consideration. I remain fully focused on my current responsibilities in Gilbert,” Banger stated in an email response to the Independent earlier this month.

City Manager Kevin Phelps announced his intention to step down in February but said he was willing to stay in the role for up to a year or possibly a bit longer while Glendale searched for his replacement.

Phelps also said in May he is open to working as a consultant during his successor's first couple of months.

"That will be a decision made by the council after the candidate selection. They will work with the new city manager to determine the best transition strategy for the city," Glendale Human Resources & Risk Management Director Brown stated in an email.

Banger was appointed as town manager of Gilbert in August 2011. He has more than 24 years of local government experience in addition to seven years of executive level leadership in the private sector.

Rios has lived in Glendale for nearly four decades. As one of two assistant city managers, she oversees more than 2,000 city employees and leads several departments, including parks and recreation, libraries and community services, innovation and technology, and human resources and risk management.

According to the bio provided by Glendale, Banger orchestrated the downtown revitalization of Gilbert Heritage District, generating $387 million in investments and 748,000 square feet in new construction.

 Gilbert editor Tom Blodgett contributed to this story. Read his work at the Gilbert Independent site.

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.