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The former mayor of Fairbury, Neb., remembers James Ferneau well. What's more, she's jealous of Burlington for landing him as its new city manager.

LaVeda Fry said her town was on the verge of bankruptcy before Ferneau stepped in as its first city administrator in 2005. Fry credits Ferneau's cost-cutting and attracting external funding as the impetus for turning around the small city by the time he left three years later.

"It was great working with Jim," Fry said. "You should be very pleased to have him. I wish we had him back."

Fry isn't the only one with good things to say about Burlington's incoming city manager. Council members, city clerks, newspaper editors and reporters from here to Nebraska agree: James Ferneau is smart, and he is good at his job.

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Ferneau, 44, interviewed and was hired as Burlington's new city manager Feb. 18. He begins his duties here April 23.

"I really enjoyed working with him," said Sharyl Preston, the city clerk in Fairbury, who only worked with him for a few months. "You could ask him anything, and he either knew it, or he'd find out right away for you. I hated to see him leave."

"He's probably one of the brightest individuals I've worked with," said Sergeant Bluff Mayor Dale Petersen.

Ferneau has been city administrator in the northwest Iowa town on the Missouri River just south of Sioux City since 2008. Petersen, too, credits Ferneau for much of the town's recent success, which includes a renovation of city hall partially paid for with grant money Ferneau found.

"You guys should be very pleased to have him work for your city," Petersen said. "We are definitely going to miss him here."

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Rave reviews for Ferneau