Meet Merriam’s New Assistant City Administrator

Published on April 19, 2021

black and white headshot of Jennifer Jones-Lacy. She's wearing a wide-striped jacket. She has wavy blond hair and is leaning up agains a wood wall.

Jennifer Jones-Lacy is ready to hit the ground running. She’s the City’s new assistant city administrator and wants to help continue growing the City of Merriam in a positive direction. Merriam City Councilmembers approved the hire at their April 12 meeting.

No stranger to Johnson County, Jones-Lacy comes from Roeland Park, where she served as the City’s assistant city administrator and finance director. Jones-Lacy said she can’t wait to work with Merriam’s incredible residents.

“I look forward to working with the public to help maintain and improve livability, whether that’s through existing programs or finding new ways to deliver a service even better,” Jones-Lacy said. 

Jones-Lacy spent the last 15 years of her career in local government management in the Kansas City region. She began her career with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, as a Cookingham Management Fellow, and after that, she was hooked! She has since worked in a variety of fields, including budget and finance, parks and recreation, planning and development, communications, and more in cities large and small, rural, urban and suburban. 

Jones-Lacy said she enjoys learning about an organization and helping staff and the City Council achieve their goals and finding ways to improve service delivery.

“Merriam is a larger organization than Roeland Park and an excellent opportunity to work with some great people in a very professional, well-run organization,” Jones-Lacy said. “I hope to add some light-hearted and positive energy to Team Merriam.”   

Jones-Lacy received her Master’s in Public Administration and her Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism, both from the University of Missouri - Columbia. When she’s not working, you’ll find Jones-Lacy running across town training for her marathon and spending time with her husband and two kids.

 

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