TROY – Public service has always resonated deeply for James Knowles III. In fact, it’s one of the reasons he accepted the position of Troy’s city administrator, a role that had been vacant for nearly two decades.

“I see Troy as a place that has tremendous growth,” he said. “It’s exciting to be able to come to a community that hasn’t had a city administrator in almost 17 years and to come in and really help and add some best practices that I can bring to the table here.”

Prior to arriving in Troy, Knowles was the Mayor of Ferguson and also the City Manager for Dardenne Prairie in St. Charles County among other positions. His educational background includes undergraduate degrees in Political Science from Truman State University with an emphasis in Public Administration and an undergraduate degree in Justice Systems from the University of Missouri — St. Louis, plus a graduate degree in Public Policy and Administration in addition to other academic achievements.

Recently, Knowles purchased a home in Lincoln County and will relocate with his wife Lisa of nearly 13 years and their two children, an eight-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. Knowles started in his official capacity as Troy’s city administrator on May 5 and believes his experience will be advantageous for the Troy community.

“My experience as a former elected official really helps me to engage the board and the public with some of our conversations on goal setting and community engagement,” Knowles explained. “Working in St. Charles County, I was part of the growth and development out there so it’s experience I knew I could bring to Troy. From my conversations with the mayor and the board, there is an appetite to see this area grow and develop and to help grow and develop it in a way that is amenable to the people that live here.”

His primary goals, he says, is first and foremost having a good grasp of the Troy community and city hall and a keen understanding of the people, the businesses, city staff, and property owners. Other plans include having more of a social media presence to keep the community informed and having a community-wide survey at some point.

Also, transparency is high on his list of priorities.

“Part of being transparent is improving communication and keeping up regular communications about what is happening in city government,” he said. “It is also important to communicate with residents through multiple modes of communication, in order to have as broad a reach as possible in the community. We are currently in the process of putting together a communications policy to make regular communications with the community a priority for all parts of city operations.”

Besides community engagement and engaging with staff and the board of alderman, infrastructure is also an essential focal point. Specifically, Knowles said assessing city infrastructure, including streets, the police department, parks and city hall repairs, as part of a five-year capital planning budget is all in the works.

“These types of planning documents are common in communities and will be essential to helping us understand what our current needs and capacity to meet those needs (are),” he said. “In addition, and part of this planning process is having goal setting and strategic planning sessions that begin with the staff, then the board of alderman, and ultimately engaging the community to set goals and direction for the city as well as help the staff to establish priorities for current and future initiatives.”

As Knowles settles into his job and as an official member of the community in the foreseeable future, he invites and welcomes the community to engage and share thoughts and ideas with him.

“My hope is that people will take the time to participate more in the local government here,” he said. “It’s got a small-town feel, but it’s a growing community. There is a lot of great things going on here. Get engaged in the local community and be a part of the growth that’s happening.”