Most residents don’t think about how cities are run. As long as roads are safe, water is clean and parks are open, city administration rarely crosses their minds.

But behind the scenes, it takes a functional team and deliberate planning to make city services seem effortless. In Holladay, the person coordinating that teamwork is City Manager Gina Chamness, who’s been with the city for 10 years.

Chamness is a rarity in Utah. According to a December 2024 policy brief put out by the Utah Women and Leadership Project, of the 250-plus cities in the state, only 13 of them had women serving as city managers or administrators. 

“I think that’s starting to change,” Chamness said. “It feels like there are more women in assistant city manager roles, more women as department heads, but as far as my generation, there haven’t been many of us. I’ve been really lucky.”

Chamness never imagined she’d serve in municipal government. She started her career at the federal level, working for a congressional agency, but political dysfunction persuaded her to look for other opportunities. 

With a political science degree and a master’s in public administration from the University of Utah, Chamness landed a job with Salt Lake City, working her way up to become the city’s finance director in 2014. 

When the Holladay city manager position opened, she felt it was the next best move for her career and family, since she and her husband, attorney Ralph Chamness, have lived in Holladay since 2003.

“I saw this position posted and it felt perfect,” she said. “I was excited to apply. The opportunity to serve a community where you live felt like something I could be really excited about.”

Chamness acts as the CEO of the city, managing administrative functions, working with elected officials and ensuring ordinances, policies and rules are observed. When she first started with Holladay, the city was struggling. Aging infrastructure, stunted growth and a lack of direction left Holladay stagnant. 

Working with the mayor at the time, Rob Dahle, Chamness held discussions with city residents, elected officials and city staff to prioritize areas of focus. 

“Ten years ago, we didn’t have much of a commercial base,” she said. “We were banking on redevelopment of the [Cottonwood] mall and then the great recession set redevelopment back. The question was, how could we build a city that was going to be financially sustainable? That was a big challenge for several years.”

Investing in infrastructure was another concern. With some parts of the community more than 100 years old, Chamness knew a concerted effort and lots of money had to be allocated to improve infrastructure. 

Restructuring the city took patience. Much like turning an ocean liner, it needed a coordinated shift to move something so large and complex. 

“Everyone wants to do things quickly. Sometimes people complain about how long the government takes to do things,” Chamness said. “Making sure you have adequate time to listen to residents and making sure elected officials build that conversation into their own planning and into the process is critical. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that. I wish the residents understood how critical the services we provide are to their day-to-day lives.”

Over the last decade, Holladay has improved road quality, invested in development, attracted businesses that fit the community, expanded the sidewalk system and recently acquired the Spring Lane Elementary property to develop a new park.

Chamness builds bridges between elected officials, residents and city staff, while working with other government agencies, organizations and committees to create a city that residents are proud of. 

“I think the best attribute for describing Gina’s success would be ‘trust,’” said Holladay Mayor Paul Fotheringham. “My colleagues on the council have always felt a keen sense of trust for Gina; trust in her judgment, trust in the depth and breadth of her expertise from budgetary and legal issues to citizen engagement and public policy.”

Chamness admits the job as city manager is stressful, but she’s comfortable with conflict, especially when it leads to a better outcome for Holladay. She encourages women to pursue leadership roles, whether in government or business. 

“I tell women, you could absolutely do this,” she said. “I really do feel like I have the best job in the valley.”