Carol J. Mitten Named Urbana City Administrator

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin has named Carol J. Mitten to be the new city administrator, pending approval next month from the City Council. 

Urbana is re-instituting the position of city administrator, eleven years after it was eliminated by then-mayor Laurel Prussing. 

"I am thrilled with the opportunity to work and live in Urbana. It is a wonderful community, and I look forward to advancing common goals for a safe, healthy, sustainable city through thoughtful growth,” said Mitten. 

Mitten says she is not walking in the door with a set of changes to make. She says she sees her role as a coach — to bring leaders in the administration together to work towards common goals. 

"The administrators role is to help everybody develop themselves professionally, but also to look across the organization and have them working in concert with each other," said Mitten. 

However, she says she sees a desire to grow the city’s tax base. Mitten says there are economic development disparities in Urbana, part of which is because the city has a higher tax rate than Champaign.

“Urbana is in a competitive environment and it has a competitive disadvantage relative to Champaign," said Mitten. She says Urbana may be able to increase its tax base by attracting more residents and businesses.

She says she doesn’t have all the answers, but thinks of herself as a convener for conversations on this and other topics. 

Mitten currently serves as the Deputy County Manager in Arlington County, Virginia, overseeing economic development and public works.

Prior to that job, Mitten worked for the federal Department of Homeland Security, the National Park Service and the District of Columbia.