Brownwood City Council approved City Manager Emily Crawford’s appointment of Henry Wied as the city’s utility director at Tuesday’s meeting of the council.

According to Brownwood Mayor Stephen Haynes, the city received six applications.

Wied comes to Brownwood from a 16-year career working with the Red River Authority as a district manager, regional manager, director of operations and most recent as the assistant general manager.  The Red River Authority of Texas is a conservation and reclamation district that encompasses 43 Texas counties lying within the watershed of the Red River and its tributaries.  The utility provides public water services for 36 community water systems.  The regional system consists of over 2,150 miles of transmission and/or distribution lines and 65 pumping facilities.  Surface water is taken from three reservoirs, where it is treated and transmitted to approximately 10,000 people in the 15 county rural area of the basin.  Additionally, groundwater is produced from over 30 wells within the service area.  Prior to working with the Authority, Wied worked in large truck and heavy equipment sales.

Wied has a Class B Surface Water license, Class C Wastewater license and a Customer Service Inspection license through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

He and his wife Kristi have two children, Kalli who is a fourth year student at Concordia University and Zachary who is a senior at Wichita Falls Rider High School.

Crawford stated that Wied exemplifies the character of a civil servant, and takes pride in serving the public.

Wied will have a base pay of $82,000 per year which includes a $450 car allowance and COBRA insurance coverage for three months.