Biography
David W. McCary, CPM
Assistant City Manager
Career
David McCary was appointed Assistant City Manager on February 27, 2020. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, he oversees 6 major departments. Departments include the Office of Sustainability, Office of Equity, Animal Care Services, Public Libraries, Parks & Recreation and Solid Waste Management. McCary has 30 plus years of professional experience in the field of solid waste management and environmental services. He was instrumental in converting San Antonio to fully automated collection services and his team crafted the city’s first Recycling and Resource Recovery Plan in 2010 titled, “Creating a Pathway to Zero Waste.” One of the distinct goals in the plan is to achieve a 60% residential recycling rate by 2025 and today the City has a 36% recycling rate, far exceeding the 7% recycling rate when he first arrived in 2007.
Prior to McCary’s arrival in San Antonio, the Solid Waste Management Department averaged an injury a day from failed manual collection practices. His techniques not only eliminated job related injuries by transitioning to automated collection services, but his Department ensured the City of San Antonio became the first municipality in the world to receive the Safety Accredited ISO 45001 Certification from the International Organization for Standardization. McCary’s team is known for leading an effective response to the 2017 devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas. Solid Waste Management became the first responders to provide post disaster recovery relief to restore Houston’s Kingwood Community within 31 days.
McCary is a liberator and mentor of municipal employees around the country. He has directed solid waste and environmental operations for Houston, Texas; Durham, North Carolina; Tampa, Florida and San Antonio, Texas. “McCary’s greatest accomplishment he is most proud of is that he was able to achieve millions of tax and rate payer’s savings from each of these cities without one employee ever being laid off.”
Education
- Masters of Public Administration (MPA), University of Texas San Antonio
- Bachelors of Science in Business Management (BSBM), LeTourneau University
- Certified Public Manager (CPM), Texas State University
Departments
Executive Support
Executive Management Assistant: Jhair Rincon
Sr. Executive Secretary: Yvette Mendoza