New Littleton City Manager Michael Penny has now been on the job for more than two months.

As the leader of the city staff, he hasn’t had the luxury of a break-in period. He’s had to learn on the fly, at the same time as performing up to the high standards set by his predecessor, longtime city employee Jim Woods.

Woods retired at the end of September, and Penny started the following Monday.

Penny, 43, moved to Littleton with his wife and 10-year-old daughter Anna. He’d served as town manager of Frisco, a mountain community in Summit County, since 2004. He previously held the same position for two years in Ouray, a small town in the southwestern section of the state. He began his professional career in planning and public works with the City of Boulder after earning his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado.

Community Media of Colorado recently spent some time talking to Penny about his experience in Littleton so far, and his goals for the future.

What adjustments have you had to go through working in Littleton as opposed to Frisco? How does the city differ from your previous posts?

It’s been interesting to me that there are more similarities than differences. Both communities have a very strong sense of community and those who live and work in the area are very vested. The people who have chosen to make Littleton their home value it and don't have a desire to leave. The same is true for Frisco. The school systems are both very good.

Obviously there are some very real differences in the areas of economies. Frisco is a tourist-based economy, geography, size, and so on. But, having lived on the Front Range for most of my life, it was very much like coming home.

How does your family like the area?

My wife loves being back in the Front Range. She went to school at ACC and feels the south metro area is one of the best. My daughter — Anna, who is 10 — is still transitioning, but is meeting friends in school and actively involved in South Suburban Sparks gymnastics team. We love living in Littleton and can understand why people hold this community in such high esteem.

How do you view an ideal relationship between the city manager, the city staff and the city council?

Trust and relationships. It’s a partnership. In a very simple fashion, the council sets the direction, the policy, and communicates where they want to see the community move toward. The staff, including myself, is then charged with the implementation of that policy.

We are the workhorses which move us forward under the direction of the council. This is all done within the public realm and utilizing the resources of the community in this forward movement. If there’s not a good partnership and trust between the council, manager, staff and public, it’s a lot harder to move anything forward.

We need to always take action which builds the trust relationships and doesn’t tear it down. It's key to have strong and open communication between the community, the elected representatives, and staff.

Do you face any specific challenges from being a relatively young city manager, and how do you overcome them?

I’m 43 and have over 20 years of local government service. I do not face any specific challenges from being a relatively young city manager. The challenges I face are around issues of trust within the community. Maximizing the effectiveness of the organization. Building an executive team who are focused on the implementation of the council goals. In short, management and leadership focus areas.

What do you see in the future for downtown Littleton, and how important is building a relationship with the merchants? What other areas are strong candidates for commercial development?

I'm still in the information-gathering period, so I'm not fully prepared to answer the question on the future. I do believe that the downtown is vibrant and is an incredible asset to the community. I absolutely value the relationships with business owners and merchants — it is a requirement.

Can Littleton thrive by focusing on local businesses, or would the city benefit from attracting big-box stores such as Walmart and IKEA?

As a general statement, I believe either option is possible, but the reality is that we will have both. We currently have very active and vibrant independent businesses, franchises, and national chains. We also have a great hospital and associated medical businesses as well as major industry operations. The question is what do we want to be in 10 or 20 years? What type of community do we want to have?

The question of appropriate businesses is tied to our demographics and the needs and desires of our citizens. We all need to work together to create that community vision. Then we work to implement that vision.

You arrived in Littleton at the time of some controversial happenings in the city. The police department was involved in a phone-tapping incident. The city attorney filed a complaint against the city, was fired, and then received a settlement. Do you feel the city has to regain the citizens’ trust, and if so, how do you plan to go about that?

We are focused on putting the past behind us and working on the future. It is through our actions which we build the trust with the community. I cannot speak to whether that trust has recently been tested, but I can assure you we will demonstrate, through our actions, that the staff of the City of Littleton is committed to the highest level of service to the community. We do our jobs with the highest level of integrity and strive to exceed expectations.

What are some of the major challenges Littleton faces immediately? In the next 10 years?

I'm not prepared to answer this beyond the basics — economic sustainability, demographic shifts, aging housing stock, infrastructure repair costs, and so on. I can say we have a community, elected representatives, and city staff who are very capable to come together and work through any issue which we may find ourselves facing.