Washington City Administrator to resign

WASHINGTON — Washington City Administrator Deanna McCusker plans to resign from her position, after submitting a 60-day notice on March 25, according to municipal officials.

In an email, McCusker said she was departing on good terms, for personal reasons.

“The main reason is to move closer to my family,” she said. “I have seven grandchildren and don’t want to miss out on them growing up and being able to attend their activities.”

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McCusker started as Washington’s city administrator in January of 2022, following several rounds of interviews and about six months of a vacancy in the office, which manages most of the city’s day-to-day operations as the lead overseer of staff and top policy adviser to council members.

The resignation of former City Administrator Brent Hinson saw his duties delegated to other municipal leaders in his absence. Still, with a mayoral special election later this month and a relatively new city clerk at the moment, Mayor Pro Tem Millie Youngquist said the city tentatively planned to hire an interim administrator this time. Doing so ahead of McCusker’s departure would help staff gear up for a longer search to find her permanent replacement.

“I think there are people that are possibly retired, or maybe between jobs, that might be qualified to do this kind of thing,” she said. “We’ve heard about a few, but we need to look into those cases. We’ve got some feelers out … hopefully we’ll have someone that can carry the load.”

In the meantime, Youngquist said McCusker would start offloading her knowledge of various projects to other staff, as the city prepares for a transition.

“We’re working really hard to make sure we don’t, as you say, drop any balls, and can keep things moving forward,” Youngquist said. “That’s our goal anyway.“

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com