The search for a new Hailey city administrator has officially begun in earnest.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Hailey Mayor Susan McBryant and the City Council met in a special workshop to finalize details for a new city administrator job description.
To come up with a new list of job duties for the position the mayor and council have borrowed language from Ketchum and Hailey's existing city administrator job descriptions.
"It's a good blend," City Council member Don Keirn said.
Hailey has been without a city administrator since Jim Azumano resigned from the position in September 2004. Hailey is currently the only Wood River Valley community without a city administrator.
In the 2006 Hailey city budget, officials budgeted funds for the latter half of the year to pay the salary of a city administrator.
The move by Hailey officials to initiate a search process for a new city administrator follows last week's failed ballot initiative sponsored by former Hailey Mayor Al Lindley. The initiative asked Hailey voters to approve a change in the form of city governance in the city.
If voters had ultimately approved the change, Hailey would have become only the fourth municipality in the state to operate under a city council/city manager form of government rather than the more traditional mayor-city council form of government.
Throughout the debate running up to the May 23 election, city officials consistently characterized the change as unnecessary and said it would negatively impact city governance at a time when Hailey is undergoing massive change. A Hailey city administrator selected by the mayor would provide the administrative leadership needed to manage the fast-growing city, the officials said.
Also Tuesday, the mayor and council agreed that the advertised search for a new city administrator should take place on local and statewide levels. The city will advertise in local and state newspapers.
"I believe local knowledge is critical," McBryant said.
Interested applicants are encouraged to apply for the position no later than June 30, after which an ad-hoc committee established by the mayor will sort through the candidates and whittle them down to three individuals that McBryant will ultimately choose from.
All agreed that a quality candidate for Hailey city administrator could potentially be found from within the Wood River Valley.
"I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised with what we find locally," City Council president Rick Davis said. "I'm always a proponent of shopping locally."
Davis suggested to the general agreement of the mayor and council that candidates for city administrator should have strong skills in organizing, customer service, leadership, facilitating and mitigation.
Salary for a new city administrator was also discussed Tuesday. In the end, the mayor and council agreed on a starting salary range between $60,000 and $78,000 per year, depending upon the person's professional experience.
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Interested in applying?
Resumes and other application materials for Hailey city administrator should be sent to Heather Dawson, Hailey city clerk, at Hailey City Hall, 115 Main Street South, Suite H, Hailey, ID 8333. Application materials may also be sent to Dawson by e-mail at heather.dawson@haileycityhall.org.
Applicants are encouraged to submit applications by June 30 at the latest.
Application information is available online at Hailey's Web site at www.haileycityhall.org.
