Schlegel comes to the community from Las Vegas, Nev., where he served as the Director of the Department of Comprehensive Planning for Clark County. Schlegel had served Clark County and the Las Vegas community in that capacity since 1999. As Director, he oversaw a department of 55 employees with an annual General Fund budget of $5.6 million. In the last decade, Mr. Schlegel held the following positions: Assistant Director of the Department of Comprehensive Planning, Clark County; and Deputy Director, Department of Planning and Development, City of Las Vegas.

Schlegel has a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Pittsburgh. He is affiliated with the American Institute of Certified Planners, the Urban Land Institute, the National Association of Counties, and the National Association of County Planners. He has 29 years of experience in local government planning, business planning, and real estate planning and development.

The Wichita/Sedgwick County Planning Director’s position was recruited nationally. A Request for Proposal was solicited from professional search firms who have experience in recruiting talented individuals for municipal government management positions. The selected firm carried out the task of preparing a list of candidates from the applications submitted.

The City and County appointment authority selected five finalists and each finalist was invited to visit the community to be interviewed by two selection panels. One panel was comprised of City and County professional and technical staffers and the second panel was comprised of members of the community. Three candidates were invited back for a final interview.

Both the majority of the County Commission and the City Manager agreed upon the joint selection of Mr. Schlegel, which is required by ordinance.