CARRBORO - The Board of Aldermen has tapped a municipal budget and management veteran from Arizona to become the town's new manager March 15.

David Andrews, 51, is a native of Freeport, Texas, and the youngest of nine children raised in Tyler, Texas. He will be paid $135,000 a year, less than former manager Steve Stewart's roughly $200,000 salary.

Assistant Town Manager Matt Efird, a finalist for the job, has filled the position since Stewart retired in August and will help with the transition.

"What really stood out is (Andrews) is a person who was extra genuine and who really understands this community," Mayor Mark Chilton said. Philosophically, the town wanted somebody who "understands involved citizenry, citizen democracy and has a strong sense of social justice."

There were at least two local applicants, Chilton said, "who are and have been outstanding public servants" but did not have the necessary hands-on experience.

The board made its unanimous decision after a 30-minute closed meeting and lengthy process that included phone interviews with 15 candidates and face-to-face meetings with three finalists. Richmond, Va.-based Springsted Inc. led the search, which cost the town more than $15,000.

Efird will continue to be assistant to the town manager.

"On behalf of this entire board, we are extremely grateful for your leadership over the last seven months that you've been our acting town manager," Chilton said. "You've had this board's confidence and commitment; you've done a great job."

On his personal website - www.davidandrews.us - Andrews lists strategic planning, land use, budget and finance, and consensus building, among other specialties, as his areas of expertise.

He will arrive in Carrboro to find a tough budget year and several postponed items, including state-mandated employee retirement and health insurance costs, the pay-for-performance program and the town's long-term debt, which is expected to peak in 2013. On a daily basis, he will be responsible for the town's operations and act as a liaison with other agencies and governments, among other duties.

Andrews will report directly to the mayor and the Board of Aldermen.

"Carrboro is a vibrant community with dedicated board members, citizens and employees," he said in a news release. "I would like to thank the mayor and board for their confidence in me. It is an honor to serve Carrboro as the new town manager."

Andrews and his wife, former Oro Valley Councilwoman Salette Andrews, have three grown children. He is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus in accounting. In 1990, he earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Arizona.

Andrews brings more than 20 years of experience as a government administrator and finance director to the job.

After college, he served as a tax auditor with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in Odessa, Texas, and later was a budget analyst for defense contractor Tracor Aerospace Austin. In 1990, he transitioned into public service, becoming the assistant finance director for the city of South Tucson, Ariz.

Since March 2010, Andrews has been the assistant town manager and budget/finance director for Paradise Valley, a town of roughly 13,000 people. He is active in the International City/County Management Association and holds distinction as a Credentialed Manager with the association.

His longest stint - 18 years - was in Oro Valley, Ariz., where he started as finance director and later became assistant town manager and town manager. He resigned from that job in September 2009, a move backed by the Oro Valley Town Council in a contentious 4-3 vote. The four council members who supported his resignation refused to comment on the vote, but that decision later led to a shakeup in which two resigned and the other two were defeated in their bids for re-election.

Chilton said the aldermen talked with Andrews about the situation, which he described as "politics."

"That's just how it is in the city and county management business," Chilton said. "There are times when good people have to move on for reasons that are strictly" political.