Manti city manager brings wealth of experience

MANTI — Manti City’s new city manager, Jason Brown, brings nearly a decade of municipal leadership experience and a background in engineering to the role.

Brown relocated from Beaver to Manti just before Thanksgiving and began work with Manti City on Dec. 1.

He served as Beaver City manager from April 2016 to July 2025 and worked more than 14 years in design, construction management and materials testing with Jones & DeMille Engineering.

In Beaver, Brown said he focused heavily on infrastructure and financial stewardship.

“I saw our savings account with Beaver City grow from a little over $3 million to $11.5 million in the nine years I was there,” Brown said. “All the while doing approximately $20 million worth of infrastructure projects.”

Among those projects were renovations to Beaver’s senior citizen center, housed in a historic opera house; development of a mountain spring that required constructing roughly a mile of road; a $3 million water improvement project that upsized lines and added fire hydrants; and a 1.2-mile roadway reconstruction project so traffic would bypass the elementary school.

Brown also served as airport manager in Beaver. In Manti, he is now manager of Sanpete County Regional Airport under an interlocal agreement among Manti, Ephraim and Sanpete County.

The airport remains a general aviation facility and is operating at status quo, Brown said, though long-term discussions include the possibility of expanding hangar space and other upgrades.

Brown said his decision to apply for the Manti position was both professional and personal. During his engineering career, he occasionally worked in Sanpete County and developed an appreciation for the area. He and his wife also have ancestral ties to the county. His ancestors settled in Fayette and Gunnison, while his wife’s ancestors settled in Manti.

“We spent time in the cemetery yesterday looking at one of the gravestones,” Brown said. “I’ve just always loved Manti.”

“The community has been extremely welcoming to both my wife and I.”

Brown earned a degree in computer-aided drafting and computer-aided machinery and a civil engineering certificate from Southern Utah University. He and his wife have three adult sons, two daughters-in-law and a grandchild on the way.

He steps into the role at a time when Manti has been adding new employees. He noted that six city employees have been hired in the last couple of years, and three of the four office staff members are new to Manti City.

“Change allows us to look at things in a different perspective,” he said.

Current major projects include housing development on the north and east sides of town, planning for construction of a water treatment plant later this year and discussions with commercial developers exploring opportunities in Manti.

Brown describes his management philosophy as infrastructure-first and employee-focused.

“My background is highly involved in infrastructure,” he said. “I just want to make sure we have good, sound infrastructure for the community.”

Brown said he has developed a strong working relationship with the mayor and city council and appreciated the transition period he had with former city manager Kent Barton before taking over the position.

In addition to his city duties, Brown was recently elected to the board of the Rural Water Association of Utah, replacing Barton in that role. He said his extensive experience with water projects and spring development aligns with the association’s mission and helps keep Manti involved in statewide water discussions.

He said city government exists to provide protection and services but emphasized that frontline employees make the real difference.

“It is the boots on the ground,” he said. “It is the guys in the trenches, the gals that keep our library staffed and operating, our recreation department going. It’s the services that we provide that really make the difference for people’s lives.”

“With limited resources, you just have to do the best you can,” Brown said. “A community can’t have everything that it wants, but what we do have, let’s do very, very well.”

“I’ve grown to love our employees,” Brown said. “We have great staff. I’m a big fan of this community.”

For now, Brown said his focus remains steady: Maintain strong infrastructure, support city employees and manage growth carefully as Manti continues to evolve.