We’re delighted to welcome someone of Brent’s skillset and experience to Pinal County, and I’m really excited about the future advancement of our Community Development Department under Brent and Lester’s leadership. Brent knows the county and is very familiar with its potential and its challenges, so he’ll be in a great position to hit the ground running from day one.”

Pinal County Manager Leo Lew

Pinal County recently announced the hiring of Brent Billingsley as the director of community development.

Billingsley, who began his career with Pinal County in the mid-90s, most recently worked as town manager of Florence since 2015. He previously spent seven years with the city of Maricopa and three with Central Arizona Governments, according to a release.

Billingsley begins his new role on Feb. 7. Current Director Lester Chow is reverting to the deputy director role.

“We’re delighted to welcome someone of Brent’s skillset and experience to Pinal County, and I’m really excited about the future advancement of our Community Development Department under Brent and Lester’s leadership. Brent knows the county and is very familiar with its potential and its challenges, so he’ll be in a great position to hit the ground running from day one,” Pinal County Manager Leo Lew said in the release.

Billingsley commented on his return to Pinal County, “After almost a decade in municipal management, I am really looking forward to focusing on community development. It is an honor to be able to work for one of the fastest-growing counties in the U.S. and to be able to share the knowledge I have gained during my professional career. It is even more special to return to where I started, with Pinal County. The leadership at that time, in the early 1990s, saw something in me and invested in my success. That investment in a local kid from Casa Grande has come full circle; I very much appreciate the trust that current leadership has in me, and I will not disappoint them.”

Billingsley is a Casa Grande Union High School Cougar, Central Arizona College “Wall of Success” inductee, graduate of Northern Arizona University and a long-time Pinal County resident. His professional repertoire includes over 25 years of project management, public works administration, transportation planning, community development, transit, utility management, economic development, floodplain administration, construction management, and environmental clearance documentation.

He is a speaker on the topics of rural transit, project management, community development, SMART technologies, rural infrastructure finance, municipal management, leadership, and the National Environmental Policy Act, the release states.

In 2015, he took on the town manager’s role in Florence, managing more than 150 employees and a $65 million annual budget. Billingsley is licensed with the American Institute of Certified Planners and is a Certified Floodplain Manager. He resides in Pinal County and is the father of Cecilia and Sophia.