Aldermen tap Little as next administrator

Lambert Little was the unanimous choice as the next city administrator when the Clarendon Board of Aldermen met last Tuesday, Oct. 12.

Mayor Larry Hicks said he thinks Little will do a good job for the city and be able to save money due to his experience.

Aldermen praised Little’s experience, knowledge of municipal laws, and good sense of humor during their discussion, and the board approved a salary of $50,000 plus benefits.

In a telephone interview this week, Little told the Enterprise he is looking forward to coming to Clarendon.

“I’m excited, and I’m loading up the motor home right now so that I have a place to camp out for a while,” Little said.

Before starting a career of city management, Little served four terms on the city council in his hometown of Hamilton and then was mayor of that city for two terms. He then managed the cities of Mexia and Edna before going back to college to finish a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

After getting his degree, Little became the City of Hico’s first city administrator and held that position for five years.

“Hico is about two-thirds the size of Clarendon, but we did a lot in five years,” Little said. “We had about $3 million in public works improvements, and the state completed a $6 million highway project.  Citizens saw dirt flying all the time.”

Little also helped organize Hico’s annual Texas Steak Cookoff, which brings as many as 5,000 people to the city.

He left Hico nine months ago and returned to his hometown where he and his twin brother have a landing strip and work on various airplane projects, but he says he’s ready to get back into city government.

“I’m looking forward to meeting with people in Clarendon,” Little said, noting that he intends to find out what is most important to the council and to the community before setting any goals for his time in Clarendon.

Little’s employment with the city begins November 1. At press time, city officials planned to have Little at City Hall on Wednesday, October 20, from 1 to 3 p.m. to meet with citizens and employees.

In other city business last week, the aldermen approved a resolution authorizing a grant application for the city’s recycling center, and the board elected Alderman Ann Huey to serve as the city’s mayor pro tem.