City Manager’s Office

Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr. has served as the City Manager of Sanford, Florida since September 2011. The City Manager is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Mayor and City Commission. As the City’s chief administrative officer, he is responsible for overseeing all city operations, which includes a $241 million budget, and over 540 employees.

Prior to Sanford, Mr. Bonaparte served as the city manager of Topeka, Kansas, Plainfield, New Jersey, Camden, New Jersey, Willingboro, New Jersey and Glenarden, Maryland.

Mr. Bonaparte is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and has earned its Credentialed Manager designation. He currently serves as the President of the Florida Tri-County League of Cities, the Chairman of the University of Central Florida’s School of Public Administration Advisory Board and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Central Florida Regional Hospital.  In addition he is on the Board of Directors of the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Sanford Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the 90.7 WMFE/89.5 WMFV (public radio) Community Advisory Board.  He was a Board member of the National Academy of Public Administration, the Florida City and County Management Association, the National Forum for Black Public Administrators and the Sanford Rotary Club .

Mr. Bonaparte has been elected president of both the New Jersey Municipal Management Association and the Maryland City/County Management Association and was a board member of the Florida City and County Management Association and the Kansas Association of City/County Management.

Mr. Bonaparte has been a speaker at city management conferences throughout the United States and China, and has authored articles that have appeared in the International City/County Management Association’s PM Magazine and the American Society for Public Administration’s PA Times.  He has taught graduate public management courses at Rutgers University and undergraduate courses in management at National-Louis University’s School of Management and Business. He has served as a principal instructor for the University of Kansas’ Emerging Leaders Academy and is a guest speaker at the University of Central Florida’s School of Public Administration.

Mr. Bonaparte holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University’s Graduate School of Business and is a graduate of Harvard University’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program.