Meet the Highest Paid Person at The COJ - Jenks City Manager Chris Shrout and His Impact on the Community
- Bryan Wilks
- 11 hours ago
- 12 min read
Updated: 29 minutes ago
Online reports indicate that Chris Shrout, the City Manager of Jenks, is the highest-paid city official, earning over $164,970 in 2021. By 2024, his salary had risen to $193,857. In addition to the 6.8% contributions made to all employees, the City of Jenks provides Chris with an extra $13,164 annually in vested contributions. City Manager Shrout also uses the City of Jenks general fund, spending $252,912 for the fiscal year that ended on June 30th. In 2025, the average annual salary for a City Manager in Tulsa area is $100,053. This amount not only emphasizes Shrout's salary but also reflects the broader compensation trends in local government. The average salary for a City of Jenks employee ranges from $15,494 to $59,846, with the top 10% of earners receiving $93,081+ and for more context City Administrator Mike Miller of Tulsa earns just slightly more than Shrout in Jenks, despite Tulsa's population of 411,894 compared to Jenks' 20,000+.
He is likely the most influential person in Jenks, as he not only manages the entire City of Jenks budget, which receives over $60 million annually from sales tax and holds over $180 million in total assets, but also serves on the boards of the most impactful and well-funded sectors of the City of Jenks . He is a board member of the Jenks Aquarium Authority and the Jenks Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and he's the "Trustor" of the Jenks Economic Development Authority (JEDA) which is an Oklahoma Title 60 public trust with the City of Jenks (“City”) as its beneficiary. JEDA’s trust purposes include “the support and promotion of economic development and commerce," which has cash reserves in the millions. If you're a business in Jenks looking for an incentive, you deal with JEDA. If you work for the Aquarium, you seek large donations through the Jenks Aquarium Authority via The City. In 2017 Chris fired the director of the Oklahoma Aquarium Director Teri Bowers, and received a city council resolution confirming that he had the authority to remove, demote, lay off or suspend administrators at the aquarium. If you're employed by the City of Jenks, you report to the City Manager. If you work at the Chamber, your role is to secure the City's development contract. Chris also has the authority to reallocate appropriations between object categories within a department without needing approval from the City Council. Since the City Council is his sole superior and the council position in Jenks is currently unpaid, Chris experiences minimal, if any, daily oversight. Ultimately, all paths converge back to the most influential figure in Jenks—City Manager Chris Shrout.
The Role of a City Manager
A City Manager plays a central role in the operational and administrative facets of local government. They are tasked with implementing city policies, managing city departments, and ensuring that local services effectively meet the needs of residents. In essence, the City Manager bridges the gap between elected officials and the citizens, transforming political decisions into practical strategies that benefit the community.
In Jenks, Chris is in charge of planning city budgets, and in 2023, Shrout led the City of Jenks in acquiring a high-end ranch, showcasing his unmatched influence and authority. This property is located at 106th St., on the west side of Elm. Records indicate that the city entered into a purchase and sale agreement on May 17, 2023. The ranch spans 25 acres (mostly in a flood zone) and was acquired by the city for $6.5 million. The purchase is primarily funded by federal tax payer money, with Jenks receiving $5.9 million from the Cares Act and the American Rescue Plan Act. These federal funds come with strict reporting requirements and construction-related restrictions. The additional $600,000 would be covered by markup on industrial water sales.
On March 11, 2021, President Biden enacted the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which allocated $65.1 billion in direct and flexible assistance to American cities and towns like Jenks America. The U.S. Department of the Treasury distributed ARPA funds according to the size of the recipient city, town, or village: metropolitan cities and non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs). Chris spearheaded the effort to use taxpayer ARPA money for spending on the ranch property.
City Manager Chris Shrout Deals With Public Backlash
A City Manager is tasked with engaging with the public to ensure transparency and clarity about major and costly acquisitions, such as the Ranch. When the City purchased the ranch property Chris announced that the Chamber of Commerce offices would be moved to the ranch property. The Jenks Senior Citizens group would be allowed to hold their meetings at the existing 7,000 square foot facility at 1st and Main Street, rather than in the Community Room at Jenks City Hall. Plans included developing a future public park on a significant portion of the ranch property and providing a large meeting venue in the existing 10,800 square foot building on the ranch.
The Jenks Chamber of Commerce did in fact relocated their offices to the ranch, which involved removing the full-length basketball court from their building. The City of Jenks auctioned off the basketball court along with other high-end amenities such as a full gym and other valuable items. Chris also spearheaded the construction of a large parking lot to accommodate chamber and city events, which required an additional capital investment of $137,126.
The Jenks City Manager Faces Compliance and Oversight Challenges
The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office looked into the Ranch purchase, necessitating Chris's cooperation in reviewing and providing information and documents. Chris and his team are tasked with regularly overseeing and reporting on such things, even though it's rare for the Attorney General's Office to conduct reviews like this at the city level. As concern continues to grow over this purchase and other large purchases Chris will continue to oversee compliance and transparency.
Jenks Changing Landscapes
Shrout is experiencing changes at the executive levels of the City of Jenks , including Heather Turner, a member of the Jenks community and owner of a small music studio named Anthem Road Academy located in The Ten District, who took the role of President at the Jenks Chamber of Commerce prior to purchase of the Ranch. The relationship between the Jenks City Manager and the Jenks Chamber President is inherently challenging to navigate because the City of Jenks is the primary financial supporter of the Chamber. In fact, the Chamber's budget exceeds $300,000 annually, with salaries making up over $220,000 of this total. The salary totals are approximately what the City of Jenks donates to the Jenks Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, City officials, such as Chris, serve on the Chamber board. This situation is perceived by some businesses, which interact with the city and view the chamber as their advocate, as a conflict of interest.
Heather and Chris planned to establish the ranch as the headquarters for the Jenks Chamber and use events to support some of the Chamber's financial needs. In a surprising and controversial move, Heather was appointed by Governor Kevin Stitt as the executive director of the Department of Commerce a few years after taking over the Jenks Chamber position. However, the Oklahoma Senate refused to consider her nomination, with Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat expressing "really big concerns about the nominee (Heather Turner)." Despite the Senate's refusal, the Governor appointed Heather as the executive director of the Oklahoma Division of Community Outreach and Revitalization Enterprise (CORE) which didn't require a vote. This division, created by Senate Bill 1447, will work alongside the newly established Division on Economic Development, Growth, and Expansion (EDGE).
Heather's plans for events at the ranch are now in the past, but Chris and the Jenks taxpayers are left with the high costs of maintaining a 20+ acre ranch property and its associated expenses, such as the fire suppression system, which alone was estimated to cost tens of thousands of dollars.
As a City Manager, it's essential to tackle these issues head-on. The Ranch may never fulfill its initial vision for The City of Jenks or yield a return on investment. The City Manager must find it challenging to reflect on the promises made when the Jenks City Council and Mayor Cory Box announced that the Ranch purchase would serve as a community center and be preserved. It's indeed challenging to withdraw from public commitments of this magnitude, but Chris Shrout excels in financial modeling and can adapt swiftly.
Shortly after Heather Turner took her new job working for Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt City Manager Shrout promptly decided to lease the Ranch to a private event business, akin to local businesses like Spain Ranch, a prominent venue in Jenks located at 732 E 116th St, and the Five Oaks Conference Center, , which offers banquet and wedding services, a lake, and overnight accommodations at 528 East 121st St S, Jenks. This decision arose because the new and current Jenks Chamber of Commerce President, Angie Duntz, intends to move their offices to a different location as the Chamber focus has shifted away from events. A difficult decision and a hard one for Jenks residents to understand due to the significant change in the Ranch's role from a "community center" and open space with additional parking, as explained by the City Manager, Jenks City Council, and Mayor Cory Box during the City meeting on June 6th, 2023 (see video below).
Angie and Chris aim to move out of the Ranch and lease or buy a new location that will function as both an office for the chamber and a tourism center, where she plans to sell Jenks merchandise similar to the popular The Trojan Shop on Jenks Main Street. During a recent Jenks City Council meeting, Angie sought taxpayer funding for the "tourism" concept offices, with Chris Shrout, Mayor Cory Box, and Chamber Chair Elect Dr. Matt Bowler. Besides serving on the Chamber Board, Dr. Matt Bowlers (to Angie's left with white shirt in the video below) also serves on JEDA, the Aquarium Board, and co-owns commercial properties in downtown Jenks.
Reporting To The Jenks City Council
In Jenks, City Council elections are held citywide. Despite a bad showing in his own ward, Cory Box secured his seat on the city council by a narrow margin of only a few hundred votes against a first-time candidate. Subsequently, the City Council appointed him as Mayor of Jenks, since the mayoral position is not elected but appointed.
Several council members who nominated him were appointed by Jenks Mayor Box personally, including Matt Emmons, the Owner, President, and Founder of Emmons Construction, LLC. He is also a member of the Home Builder's Association of Greater Tulsa and a former President. Another appointee is John Brown from WARD 1, who serves as the Grants and Sponsored Programs Administrator at Victory Christian Center. Chris Shrout serves at the discretion of Mayor Cory Box and the City Council, which comprises Mayor Cory Box from Ward 6, Vice Mayor Donna Ogez from Ward 5, John Brown from Ward 1, Matthew Emmons from Ward 2, Craig Murray from Ward 3, Adam Abel from Ward 4, and Kevin Short, who serves At-Large.
Chris Shrout navigates a delicate balance between reporting to The Jenks City Council and the citizens of Jenks, who expect full transparency and disclosure on matters such as expenditures at the Ranch and any potential conflicts of interest. For instance, Mayor Cory Box lives just a few houses away from the seller of the Ranch property and they attend the same church. This proximity could lead citizens to perceive a conflict of interest, especially given the ranch property's high sales price, its lack of commercial zoning, and its location in a flood zone. In many instances, mayors who are closely connected to high-profile and costly projects choose to recuse themselves to ease the burden on city staff and avoid any perceived conflicts. However, this did not occur in this case.
The City Manager, like the Mayor, must engage with the media. The ranch purchase occurred rapidly, within months or even weeks, and discreetly, leaving Mayor Cory Box to place Chris Shrout in a challenging situation as several media outlets began raising questions. On May 26, Mayor Cory Box posted on Facebook, stating, “We believe the ranch property at 106th and Elm (West side) offers a great opportunity to create a large open space for our citizens and businesses.” He did not mention that the city had apparently signed an agreement to purchase the property on May 17, 2023, putting the city council and City Manager Shrout in a difficult position. News outlet KRMG spoke with a current city councilor who claimed to be largely unaware of the deal's details, despite his name and those of other councilors being included in a post on the mayor’s Facebook page, suggesting they the City Council were informed of and had agreed to the deal. The article also mentions that a former Jenks city councilwoman stated, "The appraiser valued the ranch at 2.9 million dollars"leaving many in the community asking why did Mayor Cory Box and City Manager Chris Shrout quiclky and discreetly pay $6.5 million?
Fox News 23 later reported that Jenks Mayor Cory Box attempted to hold a private meeting with other neighbors and friends about developments near the Ranch, just hours after the planning commission meeting. City Manager Chris Shrout, along with City of Jenks attorney Teresa Nowlin, certainly assisted in managing and ensuring the mayor and city council navigated the situation.
Similar to the ranch purchase and surrounding commercial developments, there are concerns about the communication between the council and its citizens that the City Manager and his team need to address. For instance, the media outlet KTUL reported that the Mayor told a local business owner he wanted to demolish people's fences and burn their small shacks down. This understandably frustrated Jenks community members who live in those "shacks", who then brought their concerns to the City of Jenks.
Mayor Box found himself in a tricky situation when he did not receive a warm response to his inaugural State of the City address at The Ranch. During the address, he discussed potential developments that were in the works for the Jenks ranch land prior to the City's purchase, such as a high-end steakhouse and other upscale venues. He praised the City Manager's plan to use federal taxpayer money to halt private development and finance the City's purchase of the ranch. In this conservative town, residents perceived this as a big government approach.
Manager Salaries: A National Perspective
The highest City Manager salary reported in the United States was an astounding $468,485. However, in Tulsa, OK, ZipRecruiter indicates that salaries range from $57,200 to $130,000, with the highest earners making $171,660. In the Norman Oklahoma area the average salary for a City Manager is approximately $100,816, ranging from $57,700 to $131,000. Although Shrout's compensation might appear modest by comparison, it holds significant local value. City Manager salaries can vary widely depending on geographic location and job responsibilities. Around $95K is the average based on 29,610 advertised salary observations (38% of the 77,049 matching postings).
Here's a table of City Managers salary's by state
State | Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | Weekly Pay | Hourly Wage |
Washington | $130,708 | $10,892 | $2,513 | $62.84 |
District of Columbia | $130,411 | $10,867 | $2,507 | $62.70 |
New York | $126,258 | $10,521 | $2,428 | $60.70 |
Massachusetts | $126,037 | $10,503 | $2,423 | $60.59 |
Alaska | $124,285 | $10,357 | $2,390 | $59.75 |
Vermont | $122,705 | $10,225 | $2,359 | $58.99 |
North Dakota | $122,108 | $10,175 | $2,348 | $58.71 |
Oregon | $122,017 | $10,168 | $2,346 | $58.66 |
Colorado | $121,351 | $10,112 | $2,333 | $58.34 |
Hawaii | $119,902 | $9,991 | $2,305 | $57.65 |
Nevada | $117,518 | $9,793 | $2,259 | $56.50 |
New Jersey | $117,164 | $9,763 | $2,253 | $56.33 |
Wisconsin | $116,485 | $9,707 | $2,240 | $56.00 |
Pennsylvania | $115,683 | $9,640 | $2,224 | $55.62 |
Delaware | $115,505 | $9,625 | $2,221 | $55.53 |
South Dakota | $115,406 | $9,617 | $2,219 | $55.48 |
Virginia | $114,416 | $9,534 | $2,200 | $55.01 |
California | $113,894 | $9,491 | $2,190 | $54.76 |
Minnesota | $113,030 | $9,419 | $2,173 | $54.34 |
Rhode Island | $113,018 | $9,418 | $2,173 | $54.34 |
New Hampshire | $112,233 | $9,352 | $2,158 | $53.96 |
Maryland | $112,006 | $9,333 | $2,153 | $53.85 |
New Mexico | $111,836 | $9,319 | $2,150 | $53.77 |
Illinois | $111,831 | $9,319 | $2,150 | $53.76 |
Maine | $111,736 | $9,311 | $2,148 | $53.72 |
Wyoming | $110,930 | $9,244 | $2,133 | $53.33 |
Nebraska | $110,033 | $9,169 | $2,116 | $52.90 |
Indiana | $109,816 | $9,151 | $2,111 | $52.80 |
Connecticut | $109,784 | $9,148 | $2,111 | $52.78 |
Ohio | $109,716 | $9,143 | $2,109 | $52.75 |
Mississippi | $109,297 | $9,108 | $2,101 | $52.55 |
Idaho | $108,585 | $9,048 | $2,088 | $52.20 |
Iowa | $108,396 | $9,033 | $2,084 | $52.11 |
Missouri | $108,251 | $9,020 | $2,081 | $52.04 |
Arizona | $107,545 | $8,962 | $2,068 | $51.70 |
Texas | $107,518 | $8,959 | $2,067 | $51.69 |
South Carolina | $107,091 | $8,924 | $2,059 | $51.49 |
Oklahoma | $106,558 | $8,879 | $2,049 | $51.23 |
Montana | $105,925 | $8,827 | $2,037 | $50.93 |
Utah | $105,062 | $8,755 | $2,020 | $50.51 |
North Carolina | $104,881 | $8,740 | $2,016 | $50.42 |
Tennessee | $104,744 | $8,728 | $2,014 | $50.36 |
Alabama | $104,602 | $8,716 | $2,011 | $50.29 |
Kansas | $102,924 | $8,577 | $1,979 | $49.48 |
Newfoundland | $101,390 | $8,449 | $1,949 | $48.75 |
Michigan | $100,587 | $8,382 | $1,934 | $48.36 |
Manitoba | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Nunavut | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
British Columbia | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Prince Edward Island | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Newfoundland and Labrador | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Alberta | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Yukon Territory | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Saskatchewan | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Ontario | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Northwest Territories | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Quebec | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Nova Scotia | $100,482 | $8,373 | $1,932 | $48.31 |
Kentucky | $100,233 | $8,352 | $1,927 | $48.19 |
Louisiana | $98,686 | $8,223 | $1,897 | $47.45 |
Georgia | $97,446 | $8,120 | $1,873 | $46.85 |
Arkansas | $95,429 | $7,952 | $1,835 | $45.88 |
West Virginia | $89,343 | $7,445 | $1,718 | $42.95 |
Florida | $86,242 | $7,186 | $1,658 | $41.46 |
New Brunswick | $81,050 | $6,754 | $1,558 | $38.97 |
The Impact of Christopher Shrout on Jenks
Shrout's vision goes beyond financial issues; he contributes to shaping the culture for more than 200 City of Jenks employees. While reviews and feedback may not be as favorable as in other cities, individuals can investigate this on their own. Jenks is a relatively small town where everyone is familiar with each other, so asking around can offer insights. Appointed by the City Council, the City Manager serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of the City. Jenks operates under a Council-Manager form of government. The City Manager, appointed by the City Council, oversees and directs the daily operations of the City, implements policies established by the City Council, and manages all City employees. The City Manager also presents the Annual Budget to the Mayor and Council and offers professional recommendations to assist the City Council in policy development. He is undoubtedly the most influential person in Jenks, America!
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