The City of Charles City is not only in the market for a new city administrator, but also a new council member.
Councilman Keith Starr has submitted his resignation, effective July 31st.
During a City Council planning session Wednesday (07.16) night, Mayor Dean Andrews encouraged appointing Starr’s successor as opposed to a special election.
The Council has directed City Clerk Brittany Lentz to develop a brief questionnaire for those interested in the council seat to complete prior to their consideration for the position, to be ready for official approval at next Monday (07.21) night’s Council meeting.
The Council needs to appoint someone to fill Starr’s seat within 60 days of the vacancy occurring. Anyone who is appointed would then need to run for election in November to keep the post beyond that.
Meanwhile, the City is working with consultants to hire a successor to former City Administrator Steve Diers, who left for the same position with the City of Clear Lake. During Wednesday’s planning session, an updated hiring timeline shows an application deadline of September 3rd, with the new city administrator starting by November 21st.
The City has hired retired, former Spencer city administrator Dan Gifford as interim city administrator, now in his second week on the job.
