CHUBBUCK — Mayor Kevin England will leave City Hall next week after leading Chubbuck for the past 12 years, departing with a deep sense of gratitude, pride in the employees he’s worked alongside and confidence in the city’s future.

Upon reflection of his legacy, England said his proudest accomplishments as mayor have less to do with policies or projects and more to do with people.

“I’ve been asked several times what I’m going to miss the most, and that’s by far and away the biggest thing I’m going to miss — the associations with those who do the real work in the city,” England said. “That’s the thing that I feel the best about, leaving the city in a really good place with good people to help continue going forward.”

England oversaw the hiring of every current city department head during his tenure as Chubbuck’s mayor, highlighting the importance of the personnel changes that helped shape the positive culture within the city’s government he played a pivotal role in cultivating. England said in his 16 years at City Hall where he spent four years on the City Council before becoming mayor — he can recount only a few instances where he encountered a challenge with a city employee.

“I credit that to the fact that we just have a good culture in the city,” England said. “That would be a second thing I’d talk about — the culture that was developed there, that we treat each other with respect. We have high expectations, but we make sure that individuals know their value, too.”

England ran his own business for 35 years before he tossed his hat into the municipal government arena and he credits the long-tenured employees with helping him adapt and grow into his role. England said he had to learn new ways of looking at things, changing his perspective from a self-employed boss with his own schedule to an adaptable administrator.

“I’ve heard people talk about running the city like a business,” England said. “I’ve always said, ‘You run a business to make a profit. That’s not the reason you run a city. You run a city to provide a service.’”

Where profit is generally the driver for a business, England said the city is the other way around, with service as the driving force.

“Some people look at a mayor as the boss, but as mayor, you’re not the boss of anything, you’re an administrator,” England said. “Very literally, there are processes to set up policies, and then the ordinances are all passed by the city council. As the mayor, your job is to administer what is set in place. It’s a different way of looking at those things, and I grew in wonderful ways. It was a real blessing to see things from that different perspective.”

For England, no two days as mayor were the same. Every day was brand new to him, and he’d go to the office with what he considered a full schedule, but very seldom did that happen. England had to adjust on the fly, often prioritizing the community and its residents.

“When you’re the boss, you say it, and that’s the way it is,” England said. “As a mayor, you would make a big mistake if you looked at things that way. You really need to get a lot of advice and counsel from those who are at the ground level, so to speak, where the wheels hit the road, and make sure that you understand the processes.”

England continued, “It’s going to be a team effort, We’re going to talk these things out and we’re going to make a decision that’s a collective decision. But even in that, there comes a point in time when decisions have to be made, and I was just glad that I had that other experience where I knew how to make sound decisions. But the process for making those decisions was substantially different. So that was a wonderful growth for myself.”

While England gives due credit to people who helped him along the way and the culture that was so important in contributing to his mayoral achievements, he also placed significance on the slate of major infrastructure projects as long-lasting legacies of his time in office.

He oversaw the construction of a new City Hall and police station and also established a full-time fire department. Building a new fire station was next on the list.

“As I look back at the facilities needs study we did years ago and how we plugged that in, most of the facility needs for the city are taken care of for the next six or seven decades, and I’m certainly proud of that,” England said.

He credits community support for making those projects possible.

“Anybody who’s been in our new City Hall realizes that was a great blessing,” England said. “The community got behind that and was supportive.”

Looking ahead, England and his wife plan to slow down and take things day by day, focusing on home projects and considering serving a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For Mayor-elect Rodney Burch, England’s advice is to take time, trust the staff and let change come naturally. England said Burch, whom he lost to in the November general election, will inherit strong department heads and well-established culture but it’s Burch’s own personal style that will shape Chubbuck’s future.

“I think the most important thing is recognizing that your personality will make a huge difference,” England said. “That’s one thing that a mayor does — that culture that will happen at the city a lot of times has to do with how you approach things and how you interact with other people.”

As he prepares to leave office, England said his overwhelming feeling toward its residents is thankfulness.

“I just want to express gratitude to this community for giving me the opportunity to serve for 16 years,” England said. “It has been a highlight in my life, and I certainly hope I’ve been able to make a difference. They’ve certainly made a difference to me.”

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