New Washington city administrator expected soon

The city of Washington hopes to announce a new city administrator within a week, after interviewing four finalists on Tuesday.

“All four finalists are capable, qualified, and could do the job well,” Mayor Jaron Rosien said. “It was an incredibly difficult decision to narrow down … I’m hopeful we have a hire to be approved for Tuesday’s council meeting.”

The new administrator would likely take the position in mid-January.

“One of the variables is the housing market, making finding a place to live or stay difficult,” Rosien said. “I’d say hopefully in mid-January, but that could change.”

Rosien said the interviews stuck to a ‘big tent’ approach city officials had pledged to follow early on, with several community leaders involved in the process.

“Interviews went very well, similar to the first round we had three panels, a panel of department heads, a panel of elected officials and a panel of community leaders,” he said. “After the interviews concluded, council in closed session worked to deliberate, taking into account input from all the different panels.”

The interviews came two months after the city scrapped its first list of finalists in a search for more qualified candidates.

“Initially it wasn’t ideal to do a second round, but it’s happening exactly the way … that it needed to,” Rosien said. “The second round looks to be fruitful.”

Rosien thanked everyone involved in the screening, interviewing, and ultimate hiring process.

“I’m thankful for the many individuals that dedicated time to this important task,” he said. “We have a great community for our future city administrator.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com