HOLD FOR RELEASE:   October 25, 2017     

CONTACT:   Michele Frisby, Director, Public Information, mfrisby@icma.org; 202-962-3658

SAN ANTONIO, TX—W. Lane Bailey, city manager, Salisbury, North Carolina, was installed today as Southeast Regional Vice President of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, during the organization’s 103rd Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. He was elected for the three-year term on June 23.

ICMA’s mission is to advance professional local government management worldwide through leadership, management, innovation, and ethics. The organization’s 11,000+ members from 32 countries include appointed chief administrative officers (city, town, and county managers), assistant and deputy administrators, and other employees who serve local governments and regional entities around the world. ICMA’s membership also includes educators and students.

“We are honored that Lane will join the ICMA Executive Board as Southeast Regional Vice President,” said ICMA Executive Director Marc A. Ott. “The individuals who serve on the ICMA Executive Board are outstanding leaders, not only in their own communities but also in the field of professional local government management. These individuals are committed to moving our organization and our profession forward, and we appreciate the time, energy, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness that Lane and the other newly elected members of the board will bring to ICMA.”

ICMA’s 21-member Executive Board acts in the capacity of directors, overseeing the organization’s financial, member-related, and programmatic affairs and selecting the board president. The board also enforces the organization’s Code of Ethics, which governs the professional and personal conduct of the membership.  ICMA Executive Board members attend four board meetings annually.                                                                    

“At the end of my junior year, I was trying to decide whether I wanted to take the LSAT and become an attorney,” said Mr. Bailey. One of my friends who was going to Appalachian State University (ASU) was doing his internship in public administration, and he showed me all the things that he was doing. It looked a whole lot more interesting than being a lawyer. So, I talked with my professors, and they advised me to finish my current degree, because it was too late to do the local government track, but then to stick around for another couple of years and get my MPA. I did that, and I’ve never looked back.”

“I’ve worked [as a professional local government manager] now for 28 years, both as a city and county manager in North Carolina. I think the job is harder now than it’s ever been before, but because it’s so hard, it’s essential that we have good men and women working in the profession, and I am so proud to be part of that.”

As one of 18 vice presidents, three of whom are elected from the organization’s Southeast Region (which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia), Mr. Bailey will represent ICMA to state associations of local government management and maintain relationships among other affiliated organizations. The Southeast Region is one of five ICMA regions in the United States; three vice presidents are also elected from countries outside the U.S.

Mr. Bailey began his extensive career in 1989 as a city manager intern with the city of Galax, Virginia. He went on to serve several North Carolina communities in positions that included budget analyst in Gaston County, N.C. (1989-92) and assistant county manager (1992-93) and county manager (1993-2000) in Polk County. In 2000, Mr. Bailey was named city manager of King, North Carolina, a position he held for four years until he accepted the position of city manager of Lenoir, North Carolina (2004-15). He assumed his current position as city manager of Salisbury in 2015.  

Mr. Bailey has been a member of ICMA since 1989 and has served on the organization’s Conference Planning Committee (2008-09 and 2016-17), International Committee (2012-15), Leadership Development Mentor Program (2016-present), and Legacy Leaders Program (2007-present). He earned ICMA-Credentialed Manager status, the highest professional designation bestowed by the association, in 2002, and received an ICMA Service Award in recognition of his 25 years of service to local government in 2014.

As an active member of the North Carolina City & County Management Association, Mr. Bailey served in the capacity of board member (2004-06), vice president (2009-10), president (2010-11), and past president (2011-12). He is currently an ambassador for the Alliance for Innovation, a partnership that involves ICMA and Arizona State University and which was created to inspire community innovation.

Mr. Bailey earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Appalachian State University in 1987 and a Master of Public Administration from the same institution in 1989.

About ICMA
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide through leadership, management, innovation, and ethics. ICMA provides member support, publications, data and information, peer and results-oriented assistance, and training and professional development to more than 11,000 appointed city, town, and county leaders and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA's members affect millions of individuals living in thousands of communities throughout the world, from small villages and towns to large metropolitan areas.