Council searches for next administrator

The Washington City Council discussed the future of the city administrator position at a work session Wednesday evening. The council has hired an executive search firm, Voorhees Associates LLC, to look for qualified applicants. The company?s vice president, Karl Nollenberger, spoke with the councilors at their work session. City Administrator Dave Plyman will leave at the end of this week to take a job as the city administrator in Rochelle, Ill. The city will be without a city administrator for several months while the council searches for and interviews applicants.

Nollenberger began the discussion by asking the councilors to list attractive characteristics of Washington that would appeal to a city administrator applicant.

Councilor Bob Shepherd remarked that Washington is a diverse community and is volunteer-oriented. Councilor Fred Stark said the city?s historical downtown is something to be proud of. He said Washington?s role as the county seat is important, as is its close proximity to Iowa City.

Shepherd added that Washington is progressive in the sense that the people in town are always trying to make it better. He said that the opening of a Main Street office a few years ago was evidence of that. Shepherd said the Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG) is another calling card for applicants who want to be part of a growing community.

Stark said the city has an outstanding farmers market and municipal band. He said the Washington Community Center and Sunset Park are also treasures. He told Nollenberger that applicants may be interested to know the school district is building a new high school.

Councilor Karen Wilson-Johnson said the new library is marvelous, especially for a city the size of Washington. Shepherd said a sign of the community?s generosity was that only 10 percent of the money for the new library came from the city government, and that much of the rest came from donations.

Mayor Sandra Johnson said the city has impressive nursing homes. City Clerk Illa Earnest said the town has a great fire department.

Shepherd remarked, ?The fire department?s equipment is top-notch.?

The council then discussed what level of training it expects its applicants to possess. Stark said he expects a master?s degree with four to five years experience in city government.

Shepherd said, ?We want someone who is on the way up.?

Shepherd said he doesn?t mind if the future city administrator uses Washington as a steppingstone, provided he stays long enough to accomplish great things with the city.

Nollenberger asked the council what traits it sought in its future city administrator. Stark said an administrator needs people-skills. Wilson-Johnson said the administrator would have to be good at multi-tasking, because he would have to work on many projects at once. Stark said the administrator would be expected to work unusual hours.

?This is not an 8-to-4 job,? said Stark.

Wilson-Johnson said the administrator should be active in the community.

The council debated what residency requirements it should impose on the administrator. The city?s current ordinance requires the administrator to live within 20 minutes of Washington. Councilor Merlin Hagie said the administrator should live within the city?s zip code.

Mayor Johnson said she expects the administrator to live within the city limits. She said the community may become suspicious of an administrator who recommends tax increases but who doesn?t have to pay them himself. Shepherd agreed, remarking that there are plenty of places to live in Washington.

Nollenberger said he would take the information the council gave him and put it in a brochure to hand out to potential applicants.