The City of Centennial is a Council-Manager form of government.

A City Manager is appointed by City Council to oversee the general operations of the City and implement policy decisions made by City Council. This system of local government combines the strong political leadership of elected officials in the form of a council, with the managerial experience of an appointed local government manager. The City Manager's Office as a department is responsible for coordinating the activities of all City departments, translating Council policy into action programs and a variety of special projects. View the duties and responsibilities of the City Manager as identified in Ordinance Number 2012-O-09.

Centennial's City Manager is John Danielson, who started with the City in May 2012.

Spanning a 25 year career in municipal management, John Danielson has served as City Manager in a wide variety of cities and special districts. During that time John has had the opportunity to create two new cities from their inception, based on the public/private partnership model, played an instrumental role in developing the infrastructure and municipal management models of three other new cities, and consulted with municipalities affected by complex financial and structural issues in need of critical resolution. 

Danielson has helped to create a high functioning core management team that requires only 50 employees to provide outstanding services to more than 100,000 residents. This is achieved through the use of extensive contract services ranging from law enforcement to engineering to snow plowing.

John holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Management from the University of California at Davis. His continuing professional studies include Negotiations from the Harvard School of Law, and Innovative Organizations from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.