Laurence Christian gets quite animated talking about Altoona, PA. As Strategic Solutions’ Government Administrative Specialist, Christian has been working with the City of Altoona on a comprehensive realignment and transition project since last year.
“Altoona has seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely reshape how its city government operates. I’ve never seen another municipality so determined to empower its manager and staff,” Christian says.
The project has three interrelated components: a reorganization of the city’s community development and code enforcement departments, the hiring of a new city manager, and a retooling of administrative software.
Following the retirement of a city manager and a series of interim managers, the City of Altoona hired Strategic Solutions in 2024 to conduct an executive leadership search for a permanent replacement. With candidates as far as Alaska, the city selected Chris McGuire for the job, who Christian says has an excellent grasp on community and economic development, and has ties to the area as well.
While the candidate search was ongoing, Strategic Solutions thoroughly assessed Altoona’s community development and code enforcement systems.
“City council walked us through their Community Development Plan. We spent almost three months interviewing staff in all departments, gathering ideas, and listening to concerns,” Christian says.
Altoona Vice Mayor Dave Ellis confirmed that, as of a year ago, the city’s community development and code enforcement departments were “struggling”—neither efficient nor effective.
“Not very often in government do you have the opportunity to hit the reset button with impactful results,” Ellis said. “Council hired Strategic Solutions in July. In less than a year, we have a new city manager, new leadership coming on board in community development, and a reorganized code enforcement department.”
Strategic Solutions has performed each of these services for local governments in the past, but Christian says that it is unique for a municipality to embrace change like Altoona has, and he credits Altoona City Council for taking on so much reorganization at once.
“They proceeded without any predetermined ideas and were willing to part ways with past practices,” Christian says. “They were willing to say, ‘Yes, we have to do this.’”
The City of Altoona is currently putting new processes in place and adapting its administration of essential programs, such as CDBG and HOME.
Christian says the timing of all of this is perfect. Likening the city to Allentown , he says, “Altoona is on the path to revitalization. Redevelopment is underway and the city is eagerly pursuing business opportunities. With these catalytic changes in place, Altoona can emerge as a residential and commercial destination. There’s some buzz. I can’t say enough about this community.”
