Commission Selects City Manager Candidate

Published on March 01, 2023

HELENA, Mont. –  On Feb. 28, 2023, the City of Helena Commission voted unanimously to select Tim Burton as Helena’s next City Manager. The decision came at the end of a public meeting where the Commission deliberated on the three final candidates from the City Manager search. The finalist candidates were previously interviewed over two days (Feb. 21-22) of public meetings.

The meeting on Feb. 28 consisted of an open meeting where Commission members shared their scoring and notes on each candidate’s response to the interview questions. The meeting was closed to the public pursuant to Sect. 2-3-203(3), MCA, to conduct final deliberation of the candidates. The meeting was reopened, and a roll call vote was taken, with a unanimous vote to allow the City Manager Relations Committee to proceed with negotiations of an employment agreement with Mr. Burton. Mr. Burton was contacted by a Commission representative to inform him of the Commission decision. The remaining finalists selected were contacted to inform them of the results and were thanked for their application and willingness to serve Helena.

The Commission-City Manager Relations Committee will engage in discussions with Mr. Burton to finalize an employment agreement in the coming days, and should negotiations result in a successful agreement of terms the agreement will be formally adopted at the earliest possible Regular Commission meeting.  

Tim Burton - Helena, Montana
Tim Burton currently serves as the City of Helena Interim City Manager. Burton served as executive director of the Montana League of Cities and Towns before accepting the interim position. Burton was Helena’s city manager from 2000-2009. He left the City to serve as then-Attorney General Steve Bullock's deputy director and chief of staff.  Burton then worked on Bullock’s transition team and served as the Governor’s Chief of staff in 2013 – 2014. He also served as chief administrative officer for Lewis and Clark County.  Burton received his bachelor’s in political science from Carroll College and his master’s in public administration from the University of Montana.  In his cover letter to the Commission, Burton said, “I am interested in this position because I want to continue to work with the City Commission, City staff, City strategic partners and the public to stabilize City operations and processes, work on affordable housing, homelessness, infrastructure, climate change, economic development, growth, and many other challenges the City is facing.”