Tarrant County Administrator G.K. Maenius will retire on Sept. 30, he announced Thursday (June 8).
The longest serving county administrator in Texas, Maenius has held the position since 1988 and is the only county administrator in Tarrant County history. He is credited with helping to guide Tarrant County into the 21st Century by defining the role of county administrator as the county experienced rapid growth with the population nearly doubling from 1.1 million in 1988 to 2.1 million in 2022.
Maenius, 71, has worked with four county judges – Roy English, Tom Vandergriff, Glen Whitley and Tim O’Hare – while overseeing a county government that now has more than 4,600 employees and an operating budget of approximately $900 million.
“G.K. Maenius is a Tarrant County institution,” O’Hare said in a news release. “He is a man of the utmost integrity and is simply irreplaceable. He has faithfully served Tarrant County for over 35 years, leaving a lasting legacy of service to this amazing place we call home. We celebrate G.K. and his accomplishments. His retirement is well-earned.”
Maenius has often been an impetus for collaboration with Tarrant County cities and businesses, from helping pave the way for the Panther Island flood control/economic development project to playing an instrumental role in the partnership with the city of Fort Worth and Texas A&M in developing the university’s new downtown Fort Worth campus. He has shaped the county’s role in some of the biggest projects in Tarrant County, including AT&T Stadium, the Alliance corridor, and the expansion of the American Airlines headquarters.
Maenius helped modernize the county’s technology, bringing services beyond the downtown campus so that residents could conduct county business closer to home or online, and also helped spearhead three successful bond programs that were overwhelmingly approved by voters. The programs included numerous transportation projects and the construction of county facilities, including the Family Law Center and the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building.
Throughout his time as county administrator, Maenius has won praise for running an efficient, fiscally responsible operation. Tarrant County has consistently had one of the lowest property tax rates in the state, and when compared to the largest counties in Texas, Tarrant County is among the leaders in fewest number of employees per capita.
A native of Fredericksburg, Maenius is a graduate of Texas State University where he earned a master’s degree in public administration.
Maenius said he will maintain residence in Tarrant County and will remain active in the community while spending time with his family and working on his ranch near Fredericksburg.
“Everyone in Tarrant County owes G.K. a debt of gratitude for helping shape Tarrant County,” O’Hare said. “His leadership and experience will be missed. On behalf of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, past and present, thank you G.K. for a job well done.”