In an effort to streamline operations and enhance departmental efficiency, the Amarillo City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday to reorganize the city government’s internal structure. The resolution was presented by City Manager Grayson Path during the council’s regular meeting.
The restructuring comes ahead of the planned 2026 retirement of long-time Assistant City Manager Floyd Hartman. To prepare for this transition, Donny Hooper was promoted in November from Public Works Director to Assistant City Manager and has already begun overseeing several departments previously under Hartman’s supervision.
City Manager Path emphasized that one of his top priorities is to ensure the city government operates as efficiently and effectively as possible. The new organizational chart distributes oversight responsibilities among the city’s leadership in a way that aligns with their areas of expertise and experience.
Under the restructured plan:
Storrs will oversee financial departments, managing budgeting, procurement, and fiscal accountability.
Freeman will manage public safety departments, including police and fire services.
Assistant City Manager Rich Gagnon will take charge of community service departments, which include libraries, parks, and recreation programs.
Assistant City Manager Donny Hooper will oversee public infrastructure departments, such as streets, solid waste, and water services.
Hartman will stay on in a transitional role as special advisor, lending his experience to the evolving team.
Additionally, some departments that don’t fall under the traditional categories—human resources and internal audit—will now report directly to Path to ensure close oversight during the transition period.
Path also reinstated the previously dormant managing director positions. These roles are intended to provide more hands-on leadership for specific functional areas:
Jason Riddlespurger will serve as Managing Director for community development, public health, WIC (Women, Infants, and Children program), and environmental health.
Danforth will act as Managing Director for capital projects, developmental engineering, building safety, and city facilities.
The reorganization comes as Amarillo faces several major public works initiatives, including the highly anticipated wastewater treatment facility upgrades.
Councilmember Stanley addressed public concern over potential delays or disruption during the restructuring, especially with large-scale infrastructure projects underway.
“I don’t foresee any issues with the transition in staff, because it’s such a large project,” Stanley said. “It’s never just one person that runs that entity and that apparatus. So it’s definitely a team effort, and we’ve got good players not only on the field, but also sitting on the bench ready to come in.”
