The Town Council has given Town Manager Will McKannay an overwhelmingly positive review after his first year on the job. McKannay replaced Andy Hyatt in May of 2025 and inherited a community still recovering from Hurricane Ian that was just kicked out of FEMA’s discount program and was also embroiled in a combative recall election.
Every year the Town Council is required to evaluate the Town Manager’s performance during a Town Council meeting. McKannay was graded by each of the 5 council members on a variety of issues. The grading system was one through five with five being the top grade. No score was lower than a 4 on any of his score sheets.
One issue the Town Council wants McKannay and his team to improve upon is communicating to the public. While they agreed it was better today than under previous Town Manager’s, council members want the town to respond faster to inquiries made by residents. They want residents to be able to talk to an actual person when they call Town Hall. The town will soon be lauhcning a new AI virtual assistant program on its website called Phin. Keep an eye out for a helpful dolphin on the town website soon.
McKannay was hired in May of 2025, replacing Hyatt. He signed a 2-year contract at a salary of $200,000 per year. He was also paid $22,500 to relocate his family from Colorado. The salary the town will pay McKannay is approximately the same as what was being paid to Hyatt.
On Monday, the Town Council also voted to give him a 5% raise.
McKannay is a former Commander in the U.S. Army in Fort Riley, Kansas.
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