FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

BROWNSVILLE CITY MANAGER NAMED ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR FOR 2022   

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (January 28, 2022) – The Texas City Management Association (TCMA) has recognized Mr. Noel Bernal, Brownsville City Manager, with the Administrator of the Year Award for his significant contributions to the community and local government in Texas. The announcement and presentation of the award will be made during the TCMA Annual Conference on June 10th in Cedar Creek, Texas.   

Mr. Bernal began his service as City Manager for the City of Brownsville, the 16th largest city in Texas, in December 2018.  Since this appointment, he has led the development of an organizational culture within the organization leading to innovation and progress through initiatives such as a debt restructuring creating over $30 million of capacity for infrastructure investments, a retooled Capital Improvement Plan for reinvestment in organizational needs, implementation of a Unified Development Code, technology upgrades for enhanced efficiency and productivity, development of two tax-increment reinvestment zones – one for downtown and one for a 1300 master-planned development, management support for the implementation of a middle-mile municipal broadband network, and development of the first 5-year financial forecast leading to the city’s highest fund balance on record.  

Ms. Sereniah Breland, City Manager of Pflugerville and TCMA President stated, “Noel Bernal is an incredibly wonderful leader for such a stellar community. Noel encompasses what we all strive to be as City Managers: someone who provides pathways for varying voices to be heard, with strong integrity, endless compassion, and a servant heart. I cannot imagine a better recipient for this year’s Texas City/County Management Association’s Administrator of the Year Award.”  

"I am indebted to the ongoing support, dedication, and leadership of the Mayor and City Commission. The true reward and recognition are the growth and development of the organization that is walking hand in hand with me in our Total Alignment leadership journey," said Mr. Noel Bernal CPM.  

Mr. Bernal has served communities in South, Central, and North Texas throughout his 10-year professional career in public service in an executive leadership capacity, including as City Administrator of La Villa, Falfurrias serving as the first City Administrator, Assistant City Manager for Taylor, a growing suburb in the Austin Round-Rock metropolitan area, and Deputy City Manager for Coppell in the Dallas Fort-Worth metropolitan area.   

He received an undergraduate degree and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Texas-Pan American. He is a Credentialed Manager through the International City/County Management Association, a Certified Public Manager through the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service at Texas State University, and graduate of the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia.   

The Texas City Management Association (TCMA), is an organization of local government professionals dedicated to promoting the highest standards of governance, service, leadership, ethics, and education while embracing individual and regional diversity for the benefit of our membership and the cities of Texas.  

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