City Manager Shawn Sherrouse has appointed David Bayhan as Interim General Manager of Water Utilities, effective April 9, 2023. Current Director of Water Utilities, Bill Anderson is retiring with his last official day with the City of Lakeland taking place Saturday, April 8th. Sherrouse said, “As Assistant Director of Water Utilities, Bayhan is intimately familiar with the responsibilities of the position and has significant experience in the variety of services provided by the Water Department.”
As Interim Director of Water Utilities, Bayhan will report directly to the City Manager’s Office. This appointment is scheduled up to six-months and is intended as a trial basis for both Bayhan and the City Manager to evaluate performance. Bayhan said, “I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve as Interim Director. The leadership before me has done an excellent job in placing the utility on sound footing and I will continue building on that foundation. I look forward to leading the Water Department and our talented employees into the future.”
Bayan will assume all duties, responsibilities, and authority of the Director of Water Utilities and as a result will receive a 12% pay adjustment while active in this capacity. The adjustment will provide an annual salary of $164,036 starting April 9th.
Bayhan was born and raised in Lakeland. He originally started with the City of Lakeland’s Water Department in 2000 as a part-time Engineering Technician. Bayhan continued to move up in the Water Department taking on more responsibilities and left the City of Lakeland briefly in 2015 to accept the position of Director of Water Utilities for the City of Winter Haven. He returned in 2017 and accepted the position of Assistant Director of Water Utilities in 2019. He graduated from USF and holds Masters of Science Degree. He is married to his wife; Carrie and they have two children.