BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Members of Bridgeport City Council have unanimously selected Joe Shuttleworth as the interim city manager.
Shuttleworth, the current Director of Parks and Recreation, will take over for Pat Ford, who was terminated by the council last week. He became the director of the Parks and Recreation Department in 2018 after more than 20 years in the department as the deputy director. He told WAJR News that over that time he has been involved in nearly every operation in the city.
“I grew up in Morgantown and came to Bridgeport right out of college, and I’m currently the director of the Parks and Recreation Department, and if you know anything about our department, it’s been very active over the last 25 or 30 years,” Shuttleworth said.
Shuttleworth was sworn in Friday morning and immediately got down to work. One of the things Shuttleworth will deal with is the investigation requested by the council into the workplace culture in the city Ford has started.
“I’ve had my eyes opened already this morning just with a lot hitting my plate right now,” Shuttleworth said. “There are a lot of projects, a lot of personnel issues, and things I need to get up to speed on very quickly.”
He said he’s known every city manager over the course of his employment and wants to make stability in the workplace something Bridgeport employees can expect.
“I hope to be a familiar face that knows the history but also knows the evolution we’ve been through over the last couple of years,” Shuttleworth said. “I hope to provide some normalcy in a time that has been a little contentious.”
Refocusing the city and its workforce on delivering quality services to the residents of the city is the top priority, according to Shuttleworth.
“My message to them is going to be that we are a team and we are here to provide for the citizens of our community, and I think that needs to be the overarching goal we strive for.”