City Manager Recruitment

Heather Balser served as City Manager/Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Louisville, CO (population 20,000) from 2017 through 2021 and previously served in a number of different roles, including Deputy City Manager and Assistant City Manager, since 1997.

Ms. Balser is currently Interim Chief Resiliency Officer for the City of Greeley (population 107,000), working directly with the City Manager on such issues as homelessness and affordable housing. Ms. Balser also currently advises the Boulder Chamber of Commerce on transportation-related issues.

With a wide range of local government experience, Ms. Balser offers expertise on developing and managing annual budgets, organizational development, community planning and transportation projects, economic vitality and housing-related issues, intergovernmental relations, community outreach and engagement and collaboration with various stakeholders.

Ms. Balser received her BA in Economics from Bates College and MA in Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. Ms. Balser’s passion for serving communities and the work of local government along with its opportunities and challenges drives her interest in public service.

Education

Bates College
Bachelors in Economics

University of Colorado at Denver
Masters of Public Administration

Mr. Dorr offers over 20 years of experience in local government, and currently serves as the Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer at the City of Westminster, Colorado. Westminster is a thriving full-service city of 116,000 residents, 1,090 full-time employees, 600 seasonal/part-time staff, and a $283M budget. Westminster has adopted a new strategic plan, mission statement, and vision statement in 2022. The City is presently undertaking an extensive capital infrastructure evaluation of its water utility and completing a community survey. Last year, voters approved an extension of the City’s parks, open space and trails sales tax and the City completed its first organizational assessment on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Prior to his service at Westminster, Dorr served for 16 years as Finance Director at the City of Lakewood, Colorado. During his tenure there, Lakewood completed its Belmar Downtown redevelopment, St. Anthony West Hospital, RTD W-Line and transit-oriented development, and a number of sustainability projects. He earned a master of business administration degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of California, Irvine. Dorr is a member of the International City Manager’s Association and the Colorado City/County Manager’s Association.

Education

University of California – Irvine
Bachelors in Economics

University of Colorado – Boulder
Master of Business Administration

Carly Lorentz is currently serving as the Interim City Manager for Golden and has served the community as the Deputy City Manager for the past four years. Prior experience was at the neighboring community of Wheat Ridge for nearly a decade where Ms. Lorentz was instrumental in leading the budget process, community engagement on 38^th Ave Project, leading the sustainability board, and initiating a non-profit funding board.

Carly holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in English writing from University of Colorado at Denver. Ms. Lorentz has lead affordable housing, homelessness, strategic planning, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for the city. She has experience in strategic planning, project management, budgeting, community engagement, organizational change, customer service, and equity and inclusion work. Carly is an active member of International City Manager Association (ICMA), Colorado City/County Manager’s Association, and Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL). Ms. Lorentz has served on the Foothills Animal Shelter Board for over 6 years, and has been a speaker at several local and national conferences.

Education

University of Colorado at Denver
Bachelors in English Writing

University of Colorado at Denver
Masters of Public Administration

Scott Vargo currently serves as County Manager for Summit County, Colorado, one of the premier ski and outdoor recreation destinations in North America. Its popularity has a great many benefits, but it also presents challenges around carrying capacity, affordability for its workforce and heightened service expectations not typical for a community of its size.

His career began in the human resources field working in health care, manufacturing and the public sector. Over his 12 years as an Assistant Summit County Manager, Scott’s role expanded beyond human resources to include facility development and planning, information technology, 911 communications, ambulance services, library, and health and human services oversight.

Scott served as project manager on numerous developments; including the Summit County hospital and medical office building campus, the materials recovery facility, fleet maintenance facility, District Attorney/Probation facility, and the renovation of the historic Breckenridge Schoolhouse into a community center and library.

Scott has helped to develop many community partnerships, such as the Summit County Emergency Services Authority workgroup, which sought to share resources, reduce expenses and improve EMS levels of service; partnerships with local towns around nicotine cessation programming and funding, workforce housing development and program partnerships with towns, private developers and businesses, and fire mitigation programs with the USFS, fire districts and towns.

He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Colorado County Officials and Employees Retirement Association - now Colorado Retirement Association, Colorado City & County Management Association, State of Colorado Commission on Judicial Performance Evaluation, Early Childhood Options/Head Start, Colorado Elected Official Salary Commission, Summit Combined Housing Authority, 911 Center Policy Board, Clinton Ditch and Reservoir Company, Summit County Telecommunications Consortium, and Peak Health Alliance.

As County Manager, he is responsible for the development and recommendation of an annual county budget in excess of $140M and the management of an organization that employs over 500 staff tasked with an array of diverse programming and responsibilities including; Affordable Housing, Community Development, Public and Behavioral Health, Child Welfare, Libraries, Landfill and Recycling, Public Transportation, Road and Bridge, Emergency Management, Sustainability and Water.

Education

University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Bachelors in Psychology