PORT ANGELES — WANTED! Interim city manager for city of 19,000.
Must be able to oversee complicated $17 million budget (you’ll need to work on a tricky 2009 budget), 230 full-time employees, 30 part-time employees and touchy relations with the City Council.
Prefer local resident (the city needs to save money).
City manager experience not required — experience as chief executive officer of medium to large corporation satisfactory, if also familiar with public works aspect of city.
If interested, please apply by not later than Aug. 13.
That’s not how the newspaper want ad will be worded, but it sums up Port Angeles’ hunt for a talented local citizen to run the city — “Mr. (or Ms.) Smith Goes to City Hall.”
The City Council hopes to save money in the search for a new Port Angeles city manager by trying to find a qualified local applicant before scouring the nation for an interim city manager.
To bring in a professional interim city manager, it could be about $95 per hour — $16,000 per month, plus another $1,200 per month for living expenses, Mayor Gary Braun said at a special City Council meeting on Tuesday.
“That is a significant amount of money, so I believe that we can find someone locally, and significantly reduce some of those expenses,” he said.
City Human Resources Manager Bob Coons said Wednesday that he would begin by putting an ad in the Peninsula Daily News and contacting former CEOs or retired city managers in the area, if he hears about them.
The temporary would succeed Mark Madsen, 51, who announced his resignation as city manager on July 9.
Madsen’s resignation, effective Sept. 1, comes in the wake of weeks of controversy and his allegations of “hostile work conditions” caused by a rift with several City Council members.
