TUTTLE -- The Tuttle City Council held a special meeting on Thursday, Aug. 28 to hire a new city manager.

After a short executive session, the board voted unanimously to hire Tim Young, 31, who has worked as assistant city manager for the city of Durant for the past two years and four months.

Raised in Mustang, Young has two degrees from the University of Oklahoma, including a Master’s Degree in city planning as well as a Master’s Degree in public administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Tuttle Mayor Tom Wilson says he is happy with the choice.

“Hiring Tim is going to make my job as mayor easy, he’s got that gift of leadership and he’s going to lead this council in the direction we need to go and he’s going to bring the people along, too. He’s a consensus builder and I think he’s going to bring that to the table,” said Wilson. “There is nothing I see in the future that we can’t accomplish. In five years, Tuttle as we know it will not be the same.”

Councilman Taylor Henderson is also pleased with the decision to hire Young.

“I was here when we hired the last city manager and the difference between the procedures is like night and day,” he said. “We interviewed four people and we were pleased with all of them. It was a tough decision, but I feel good about this one, he’s got an excellent background in economic development and with his education and experience, I think he’s a very good fit for Tuttle. We’re excited about what’s on the horizon for us.”

Young is confident he can stand up to the council’s high expectations of him.

“I can handle it,” he said, grinning.

“He’s going to live up to his resume,” said Wilson.

“I want to get to know the city over the next several months so I can get a clear understanding of what’s going on before I make any recommendations,” said Young.

Coming to Tuttle, which has a population of about 6,000 from Durant, which has a population of 16,000 and growing, and, in fact has increased by 5,000 in the last eight years, will be a challenge for Young. However, he says he is open to the challenge.

“Durant’s large, but it’s also very small,” he said.

According to Don Cluck, Tuttle Police Chief and interim city manager, Chickasha City Manager Larry Shelton was instrumental in providing releases so the council could do background checks on all of the prospective candidates for the position.

According to Tuttle Fire Chief Gerald Cook, the city of Tuttle has had more than a dozen city managers since 1983, including Jerry Taylor who resigned in April, 2008.