Sheryl Sculley Speaks to OCMA About “Greedy Bastards”

Sheryl Sculley, the former City Manager of San Antonio, delivered the keynote address at the 2024 Annual Conference. Sculley, who has navigated through the complexities of city management for over three decades, shared her insights and experiences, drawing largely from her book, Greedy Bastards.

Sculley’s tenure as a City Manager in San Antonio was a challenge from almost day one.   In her first week she was presented with a list of 300 employees who were being recommended for termination for inappropriate use of a computer despite strong administrative policies or adequate controls on the computers.   

Sculley’s data driven stand against unsustainable collective bargaining agreements forms the central theme in her book and was the highlight of her speech at the OCMA Conference.  San Antonio faced long-term fiscal challenges due to the expense of police and fire agreements that the City had with its bargaining units.   Extremely high health care costs, and overly-generous education and legal benefits were offered as examples.    In her address to the OCMA, Sculley recounted the difficult decisions she had to make, emphasizing the need for courageous leadership and innovative management strategies to ensure the long-term health of city finances.