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Personality Profile
Rising through the ranks: Valdosta Public Works Director Richard Hardy named deputy city manager By Julie Young | The Municipal
Richard Hardy is a natural leader. After a 33-year military career and six years as the director of public works for the city of Valdosta, Ga., he was named a deputy city manager to the community’s current leader Mark Barber. “I am grateful for this amazing opportunity and honored to be appointed to the deputy city manager of operations position. The city of Valdosta is incredible, and I look forward to continuing to work with the dedicated city employees, elected officials and citizens of this great community,” said Hardy. A desire to serve Hardy’s career is impressive. After joining the Air Force not long after his high school graduation in 1981, he rose to the rank of a chief master sergeant and served both at home and abroad. He worked as an aircraft maintenance crew chief and supervisor as well as an operations coordinator and military training officer/leader across six different bases and two tours at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. As the superintendent of the 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, he led 413 personnel in eight Air Force career fields while managing 47 A-10C aircraft. When he retired in November 2014, he reached out to the city of Valdosta on LinkedIn and sent in his resume. He was hired to be the director of public works not long afterward. “The rest is history,” he said. Hardy’s military experience and soft skills were the perfect foundation for his new role in public works, where he manages the daily operation of residential and commercial sanitation services, right-of-way street maintenance, facilities
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maintenance and the repair of city vehicles and equipment. He also handles residents’ household garbage, recycling, bulk items and yard waste while providing mosquito mitigation efforts and street sweeping in residential areas as well as dedicated state routes. He said throughout his tenure in the department, he has worked hard to streamline operations for maximum efficiency while still getting the job done. “When I first came on board, we had a routing system that might serve 3,000 individuals one day and 6,000 the next,” he said. “We balanced the workload so that our crews could expect the same thing every day and that they had the right pieces of equipment to get the job done. I look at challenges as opportunities.” More for the money One of those opportunities has been the successful implementation of a five-year plan that not only helps personnel do their jobs efficiently but also supports those team members who want to obtain their CDL license and qualify for in-house promotions. He also removed some of the silos between departments and streamlined the fleet so the residents of Valdosta get the biggest bang for their buck. “We set priorities across organizations to purchase equipment that can serve all departments,” he said. It sounds easy, but Hardy admits it can be difficult to get buy-in from community leaders. Still, once he shows them what a
Richard Hardy, Deputy City Manager, Valdosta, Ga. (Photo provided)
Hardy lent a helping hand during a community cleanup. (Photo provided)
