Jamie Verbrugge, praised for his leadership as Brooklyn Park's city manager since 2008, will take on the same job in Bloomington.
Bloomington officials announced Wednesday that Verbrugge has been selected to replace Mark Bernhardson, who is retiring at year's end after managing Minnesota's fourth-largest city for 23 years.
Forty-eight candidates were considered before three finalists were selected. The hiring decision was made by the entire City Council. Mayor Gene Winstead said that Verbrugge, 45, had been on the city's radar for a while.
"As mayor, I have a sense of what's happening in the other cities around here," he said. "And Brooklyn Park, in Jamie's tenure as city manager, has really done some great things. So that was noted and observed. Things have really been working well in the city of Brooklyn Park."
Under Verbrugge's leadership, Brooklyn Park has seen a continued expansion of Target's corporate campus in the city, which now has roughly 6,000 workers. The city also has seen additional development in its Hwy. 610 corridor.
Verbrugge "is one of those that is a doer and a go-getter, and he has experience," Winstead said. "But it boiled down to personal fit — how Jamie would fit in with our city staff, how he interacts with the elected officials and how he can collaborate with the community at large."
John Reinan
