Mineral Wells Area News

Reporting By Gary Norman | Mineral Wells Area News

The City of Mineral Wells has a new face guiding its finances and helping shape city operations. In July, Aaron Bovos joined the city as Finance Director and Assistant City Manager, bringing decades of experience in managing multi-billion-dollar budgets and leading government finance departments in Georgia, Texas, and beyond.

Bovos previously served as Chief Financial Officer for the City of Fort Worth, Deputy County Administrator and CFO in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and Finance Director for Alpharetta, Georgia. He has also worked in finance leadership roles with the American Quarter Horse Association, the Boys and Girls Club, and MHMR of Tarrant County.

He said his move to Mineral Wells was motivated by the chance to work more closely with the community. “In big governments like Fort Worth or Gwinnett County, you don’t have the same connection with the community,” Bovos said. “I wanted to get back to a place where you can really impact the trajectory and strategic plan.”

Early Changes and Modernization

In his first months on the job, Bovos has worked with City Manager Jason Weeks to update the city’s employee travel policy and departmental purchasing policies, and to revise investment guidelines. He said these steps are part of a broader push to modernize city operations.

“We have been focused on modernizing the operation to ensure effectiveness – from business processes to systems to policies,” Bovos said. “This will require some investment upfront, but create benefits down the road.”

The FY 2026 budget reflects that shift, with a significant investment in IT assets such as computers, software, and hardware. Bovos said the goal is to streamline processes and eliminate redundancies while moving toward a more technology-driven approach.

He also credited Weeks with steering the budget discussion into long-term planning. “Our City Manager did a great job focusing the discussion on the budget this year to be not only what is happening next year, but also taking a multi-year approach. From my understanding, this is the first time we have taken this multi-year approach to financial planning, which is a staple in other governments.”

Bovos emphasized that modernization depends on people as well as systems. “None of these goals will be possible without us attracting and retaining the talent we need from a people perspective,” he said.

A Leadership Philosophy

Bovos describes his management style as one built on collaboration. He credits Jim Collins’ book Good to Great with shaping his belief that success comes from “getting the right people in the right positions.”

“I ask a lot of questions to get the team to brainstorm and come up with solutions,” he said. “You get great results with education, brainstorming, and allowing your team to think about opportunities without me just telling them what to do.”

He recalled a recent example where his team developed creative strategies to broaden the pool of qualified job applicants. “They came up with a whole list of ways to expand the reach … I’m the person who asks the question and then provides the resources for the team to be successful.”

A Personal Perspective

Bovos’ outlook was also shaped by a leadership seminar that asked participants to measure their lives in marbles — one marble for each decade of expected life. “We were left with not many marbles,” he said. “The point was, how do you want to use the remaining marbles you have and what really drives your passion?”

For Bovos, the answer was clear: “I realized I wanted to be in a smaller organization where I could make a larger impact.”

Beyond City Hall

Outside of finance, Bovos has long competed in horse shows, winning the All American Quarter Horse Congress Championship in 2015 and continuing to breed and show reining horses. He lives on 10 acres outside Springtown with his family, seven horses, and three dogs.

Whether in the saddle, at his desk, or at the council podium, Bovos said his goal is the same: to bring control, precision, and clear communication to every arena he enters.