For West Lake Hills city administrator Robert Wood,

work isn’t his only full-time job  

By Will Pafford, Staff Writer 

Running the city affairs of West Lake Hills can be several full-time jobs. 

Between handling police tickets, court dealings, city council meetings, city development and a host of other issues, the work is never finished. 

Add another full-time job, raising two children, and the workload becomes daunting.  

The key to not burning out, says City Administrator Robert Wood, is balance.

Wood became the West Lake Hills city administrator in January 2007 after leaving his first job as a city manager in Flatonia, Texas. 

Wood began managing Flatonia just after finishing his master’s degree in public affairs at the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. His entire work experience consisted of an internship in Georgetown. 

“It was kind of a trial-by-fire type of a situation,” he says of his time in Flatonia.

One of his first surprises in Flatonia was how much cities interacted with residents. 

Every time a police officer wrote a ticket, or the trash service missed someone’s house, the city would be involved to solve the issue.

“The number of ways that the city touches the lives of people who live there is amazing,” he says. 

This is what drew Wood to city government in the first place. His family has a history of public service. Almost all of the men in Wood’s family have served in the military, and he had an interest in working to benefit the public early in his life. 

“It was kind of a tradition in our family,” he says. 

He was set to begin a doctorate program in economics at the University of Michigan, but realized his work would be in grand theories or policy when he wanted to be in the middle of the day-to-day lives of people. 

“It wasn’t hands-on enough for me,” he says. 

Wood switched to the LBJ School of Public Affairs, initially seeking to work in state government. A class in local government that was taught by a city manager from Dallas changed his mind, however. 

Instead of working to create policy on a large level of government, Wood saw how he could make changes and see the direct effects quickly in local government. 

“I felt like it had a more direct impact on the people,” he says. 

Wood worked in Flatonia for eight years but was ready to return to his hometown of Austin.  

He and his wife of 16 years, Cathy, grew up in Austin, and both attended the University of Texas. When Wood saw the opening for a city administrator in West Lake Hills, he jumped at the chance to be closer to friends and family. 

“We were coming here a lot anyway,” he says. 

Although managing West Lake Hills is generally the same as Flatonia, Wood says one of the biggest differences in West Lake Hills is the level of volunteers for the city’s boards and commissions. 

“It’s amazing how willing people are to serve here, and how good they are at the different jobs that they do,” he says. 

Flatonia is a rural town with lower income and education levels, Wood says, and many of the volunteers in West Lake Hills are business leaders with demanding careers. 

Wood said many are surprised to learn that these volunteers on the City Council and other boards – who are already busy with their day jobs – do not get paid for their service to the city. 

“People can’t believe that somebody would volunteer so much time, and there’s no payment and no benefit to them other than serving the community,” he says. 

The volunteers are only one of his favorite aspects of his move to West Lake Hills. The most obvious defining trait of West Lake Hills is its rural feel despite its proximity to Austin, says Wood.

“It’s just a beautiful place to be,” he says. 

The staff at City Hall is also a blessing. 

“They work hard,” Wood says. 

Compared to similarly sized cities, West Lake Hills has a small staff, so each employee must handle various responsibilities in the office. 

Wood says he is constantly managing a variety of issues including zoning, police, building codes and the wastewater system. 

“You have to know a little bit about a lot of different topics,” he says. 

Although the amount of work can be overwhelming, the variety makes for an interesting day. 

“There is never a dull moment around here,” he says. 

But this also means it’s easy to let the work consume you, Wood says, noting its can affect the other half of his life – his family. 

Wood and his wife began dating in high school and married a few years after graduation. 

They have two children under the age of 10, and Wood’s hobbies outside of work center around family activities such as sports games or kung fu lessons. 

The work of the city will always require more than a 40-hour week, but family time is essential. 

“You have to try to prioritize,” he says.

If not, it’s easy to go overboard and become consumed. 

“It’s a hard balance,” he says.