By Cheyenne Stedman
When Sarah Austin first arrived in Portales, she thought it was an absolutely beautiful city, but she will also miss the mountains in Grants, NM where she was the Village Manager of Milan for almost two years. Sarah was also a volunteer firefighter for eleven years, and a secretary at the fire department. She feels that creativity plays a big part in her past careers and will help her in this one as the City Manager of Portales.
Sarah disclosed that she sees her biggest challenge is trying to work with the businesses so they don’t shut down. She’s always asking what we can do as a city to help businesses stay open, and is a strong believer in shopping locally. The first thing she did when she arrived was open a local bank account. Sarah also pushes teamwork and reminds everyone that they all have a very important role to play and are equally important.
Over the next thirty days, Sarah would like to discover what her top goals for Portales are going to be but generally would like to focus on employees’ needs and the governing body. Fire & Transit and Mental & Physical health are essential services and play a big part in taking care of the community, so she will also be focusing on that. She’d like to reach out to the people’s demands whether it be potholes or public attractions, such as the city pool that she’s hoping to have open by next year as swimming is also an essential service, especially for the kids.
Sarah Austin is an open-minded person and knows that we all have needs and will always prioritize and take care of them the best she can. She is very excited about town hall meetings and getting to know everyone. She loves working for the community and meeting business owners. Sarah goes on to say big and amazing changes are coming, including road infrastructure. She also assures that she is very transparent, everyone will always know what her plans are and what she’s thinking for Portales. Sarah isn’t afraid to ask for help when needed and is dedicated to finding the answers to any questions the citizens may have. She’s very excited to be here and we are excited to have her. Welcome to Portales, NM Sarah!
