KEARNEY, Neb. — One of the first things Mike Morgan did when he started as Kearney City Manager in 2005 was organize a series of community listening sessions.

From those sessions, he compiled a book of more than 1500 suggestions from residents. Over 19 years in the city’s top administrative role, he’s crossed off nearly every item in that book and is ready for retirement.

“I routinely go through that list just to try to find something that we’ve missed or haven’t been able to do," Morgan said. "Sometimes you come across a small item and you go, ‘boy we can take care of that today.’ It was very fulfilling to be able to look at that, and identify those priorities and actually accomplish them.”

Over the last couple decades, Kearney’s population has grown by 17%. The city boasts the lowest property tax rate of any first-class city in the state. The University of Nebraska-Kearney, the city’s hospitality district, and a new tech park have seen massive expansion. Voters approved a half-cent sales tax that funded the creation of Patriot Park and the under-construction Kearney SportsPlex.

“That’s the greatest compliment you can get is when you ask people for their money and they support you and then allowing us to go and do what they want,” Morgan said.

Mayor Stan Clouse has been on the city council for Morgan’s entire tenure and has served as mayor for the last 17 years. He praises Morgan’s solutions-based management style.

“It’s been a fun ride and we’ve been successful," Clouse said. "A lot of that — most of that — is attributed to Mike and the partnership and the fact that we work together and we figure things out.”

Morgan announced two years ago that he intended to retire, only to reach a mutual agreement with the city council to stay on. City leaders weren’t pleased with the national pool of applicants to replace him and opted to develop existing talent instead.

Now, deputy city manager Brenda Jensen will serve for six months as interim city manager. If all goes to plan, the council expects her to get the job permanently.

“If we have that developed internally, I’m a strong supporter of us just take it and go, especially when we have people in our community that are here to help out and make sure we’re still doing things the right way, the Kearney way,” Clouse said.

Morgan has faith in city staff to lead Kearney. He’s confident in the city’s philosophy of providing the basics and long-term planning for big projects.

“We need to always evaluate government and to be less," Morgan said. "Less government is the key to economic prosperity, I think, and to growth. We’re always trying to evaluate do we need to do this? Can someone else do this? Why are we doing this? That’s a little different, that’s not the norm today across the country in government.”

The city is hosting a community celebration for Morgan Friday night at Younes Conference Center North. His final day on the job is January 12, but it isn’t his last day in Kearney. He plans to continue living here and spend more time with his family.