BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont city manager Kyle Hayes announced Tuesday that he is retiring. In a letter, Hayes said he plans to step down in March or April of 2022.
He spoke with 12News to reflect on his years of service to the city and the projects he calls a success.
Hayes started at the bottom of the totem pole as an intern in 1993 making $7.50 an hour. 28 years later, he is the longest-serving city manager in Beaumont history and has worked on a list of multi-million dollar projects.
For 28 years, Hayes has been coming into this building, to these offices, looking for ways to improve Beaumont.
"The key in any business, in my opinion, is just surround yourself with really good people who number one know what they're doing, but second, have the right attitude, I mean we are in the service business we are here to serve the public."
In 1993, Hayes and the executive assistant to the mayor and city manager, Angela Thomas, were hired as interns and started off working in this small office.
"We always did say, maybe one day I'll be working for you, and here we are,” Thomas said.
9 years later, Hayes was appointed city manager when he was just 33 years old and to this day his goal remains the same.
"What I’ve tried to do is how can we always make things better," Hayes said.
Things like a more than $60 million renovation to the drainage system on Calder Avenue and the completion of a brand-new Beaumont Event Centre.
"Beautiful building that I think anyone in Southeast Texas can appreciate, I mean that would be nice in any city in America," Hayes said.
For 19 years, he's been helping find the right people to do the job.
"I don't personally know how to build a street, or how to build a building, but I can find the right people that do," Hayes said.
"At the end of the day you have to look in the mirror, did you do the best you could with the resources you have, and I think we definitely have."
Now, Hayes is looking forward to retirement, and what comes with it.
"I’ll be really in a position to do what I want to do when I want to do it, which will be nice. I will probably do some things by myself and with my dad and my brother," Hayes said.
And his co-workers know he'll be hard to replace.
"He's a great guy, a great leader, and we're gonna truly, truly miss him," Thomas said.