History of the City Government

Legislative Branch of City Government

As established in the 1969 City Charter, the mayor and City Council comprise the legislative branch of the City government. The City Council acts on ordinances and resolutions, approves the annual tax rate and operating budget, and generally makes policy for the overall operation of the City.

Past Mayors

Burleson has had numerous mayors who have volunteered time and energy in providing leadership for the growth and modernization of the City. Past mayors and their years of service include:

W.P. Lace, 1910 before Burleson was incorporated G.W. Bransom, 1912-1920 N.F. Smith, 1921-1922 W.P. Lace, 1923 G.W. Bransom, 1924-1933 A.W. Haskew, 1934-1937 G.E. Bransom, Sr., 1938-1947 J.M. Scott, 1948-1951 C.A. Godfrey, 1952-1955 J.A. Gregory, 1956-1959 Jack Taylor, 1959-1962

Hobart R. Bartlett, 1962-1967 Clayton A. Boyd, 1968-1971 Frank G. Norwood, 1972-1975 Dr. Robert E. Ables, 1976-1982 Scott Butler, 1982-1984 R.G. "Jerry" Boone, 1984-1988 Vera Calvin, 1988 -1992 Rick Roper, 1992-1998 Byron Black, 1998-2004 Ken Shetter, 2004-2020 Chris Fletcher, 2020-Present

City's Daily Operation Responsibilities

The daily operation of the Town of Burleson, now the City of Burleson, had been the responsibility of the City Secretary until 1969 when the Home Rule Charter was adopted by the citizens. Since that time, the City Manager, appointed by the City Council, serves as the chief administrative official of the City and is responsible for the overall operation of the City Administration.

Past City Secretaries & City Managers

The City Secretaries and then the City Managers are as follows:

City Secretaries - Up to 1969 G.W. Dobson, 1912 W.R. Taylor, 1913-1914 C.C. Taylor, 1915-1919 T.A. Jenkins, 1920 A.H. Loyless, 1921-1933, 1935 R.W. Levey, 1934, 1936, 1938 J.T. Scott, 1937 N.L. Clark, 1939-1948 Boyd Scott, 1949-1954 Ray Bentley, 1954-1967 Homer Barns, 1969

City Managers - After 1969 D.R. Ward, 1970 Frank A. Proctor Jr., 1971-1973 Homer Barns, 1974 Ronald W. Harmon, 1974-1976 James R. England, 1976-1979 Mark P. Sowa, 1979-1983 Ron Crabtree, 1984-1988 Jack Eades, 1988-1992 Kay Godbey, 1993-2001 Bill Davison, 2001-2006 Curtis Hawk, 2006-2012 Dale Cheatham, 2012-2019 Bryan Langley, 2019-present

Current Role of the City Secretary

The position of city secretary has continued since the charter change in 1969. The duties of the City Secretary are as historian of the City, providing continuity as elected officials change, processing governmental action to meet legal mandates and implementing the record policies of the City.

Persons who have served as city secretary in this capacity are:

• Sandra Barabas, 1970-1971
• Barbara Martin, 1972
• Jean Walker Phillips, 1972-1999
• Mary Kayser, 1999 -2006
• Amanda Campos, 2007-present