When he was hired by the City of Auburn, Jim Buston planned to stay for only three years. 25 years later, he has set his last day for Jan. 31. Buston was hired as the Director of Information Technology in 1996, later becoming the Chief Information Officer, Assistant City Manager and ended as City Manager.
“[The City Manager] explained to me that he was looking to start an IT department,” Buston said. “He recognized that technology was coming, and he wanted somebody onboard who could help lead the City into a more technological era.”
Buston initially was not going to leave the private sector, but he wanted to be able to give back to the community, so he planned to develop the IT department over the next three years. He prepared to have to manage and teach employees, but he was pleasantly surprised with his team.
“Before I joined the City of Auburn, I had this idea of what City workers were like, and it wasn’t flattering,” Buston said. “For some reason, [many] believe that government workers aren’t as as good as the private sector. But, in very short order, upon meeting the people who worked within the City, I realized that not only were they as good as workers I was seeing in the private sector, but most likely better.”
Buston said his interactions with the City staff are what he will miss the most in his retirement. He is amazed with the ideas brought to him to solve issues.
Buston recalled bringing internet to local schools and City buildings — one of the projects he is most proud of.
“When I first started as the IT Director, the World Wide Web was new,” Buston said. “Nobody had email or things like that, and there was no infrastructure in place to provide that service. One of the first things I did was connecting buildings with wires. We would have these weekends where parents would come pull cables through the school and into each classroom. It was more construction work than IT work, but it was building the infrastructure needed to use all of the electronics we enjoy today. I spent days [terminating wires], and when I finished, there really was a sense of satisfaction. While it’s not that glamourous or that flashy, I think it’s one of the things I’m most thankful I did.”
Buston also added voicemail systems to the City’s phones, as citizens at the time complained about not being able to reach City services via phone. After his changes, Auburn has since become one of the highest ranked cities in the country for customer satisfaction and use of technology.
“One of the goals in the Auburn 2020 [plan] was to make sure we have a connected community,” Buston said. “What that meant was we should not only have internet at the homes but have multiple options. When we first started, there was one company that provided television service in Auburn. If you don’t have competition, you don’t get the best product … now, we have four different cable services in Auburn.”
As he worked his first three years, Buston kept wanting to see projects through before leaving. And so, three years quickly became five years, which turned to 10 years, which continued to 25 years.
Auburn has grown at a rate of about 3 to 4% per year, and with that growth comes change, Buston said. When he started, Auburn’s downtown was not as active as it is now. Buston attributes the change to allowing residential buildings to be built downtown.
“[The residential businesses] made it very vibrant at night,” Buston said. “You go to downtown Auburn and you see a very lively area. Conversely, you go to Opelika, which has a very nice downtown area, but after 9 o’clock, it’s dead.”
Buston did not plan on becoming the City Manager, but the previous City Manager left on short notice.
The City Council conducted a nationwide search which did not provide suitable candidates, so Buston was asked to be the City Manager through the end of their term. Once Mayor Ron Anders and the current City Council took office, he agreed to continue for two more years.
Though Buston is finishing his career with the City, the projects will not stop. He will be handing off the work he has been doing to Megan Crouch, the current Assistant City Manager.
The City Council voted to make Crouch the next City Manager on Oct. 20 of last year, shortly after Buston announced his plans to retire.
“In the City Manager position, you’re looking at projects six or seven years down the road that you’re just starting right now,” Buston said. “There’s nothing I have to wrap up by Jan. 31. There’s a long list of projects we’ve been working on and continue to work on, and Megan … will just continue with those.”
Buston initially decided to retire a few years ago due to a job offer. He was in a position where he could use retirement money in Alabama and start working in another state simultaneously. Since then, Buston has decided to fully retire.
“I’ve always wanted to travel, and a couple months ago I had my 70th birthday,” Buston said. “If I continued working and I’m not taking advantage of this time to travel, I may
never get to do it. Unfortunately, COVID put a kabash on my travel plans, at least until June or July.”
Buston will still be around Auburn after retirement, but he will not attend City Council meetings anymore. He belongs to the International City/County Management Association, which does not allow former City Managers to get involved with the politics of cities they previously worked for.
“Once I’m gone, I’m gone,” Buston said. “I’m not sticking my nose where it doesn’t need to be. I’ll continue to be interested in how Auburn progresses, but I have confidence in Megan. I think the elected officials we have truly have the best interest of Auburn in mind, so I will just be a retired person traveling around.”
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Charlie Ramo, junior in aerospace engineering, is the content editor of The Auburn Plainsman.
