Council approves offer to hire Kurt Sorensen as Sutherland city manager, delegates contract talks to mayor

The Sutherland City Council voted Aug. 11 to offer the city manager position to Kurt Sorensen and delegate authority to the mayor to negotiate the employment contract, with a finalized agreement to be returned to the council for formal approval in October.

Jerry Gillum, the current city manager, is due to retire at the end of the year and presented the process the council followed to recruit and interview candidates. Gillum outlined next steps: reaffirm the job description, select the preferred candidate and delegate contract negotiation authority. The motion the council approved named Kurt Sorensen as the candidate to whom the position would be offered.

The delegation will allow the mayor to negotiate details confidentially with assistance from staff and the city attorney; Gillum and staff said the finalized contract will be presented to the council at the October meeting for formal approval. The council moved and seconded the offer-and-delegate motion; roll-call votes recorded: Councilor Sarnoski — Aye; Councilor Hamilton — Aye; Councilor Whitaker — Aye; Councilor Woods — Aye; Councilor Daigle — Aye. The motion carried.

Councilors offered brief comments expressing support for selecting an internal or locally familiar candidate. No personnel terms were announced at the meeting, and the council did not complete or approve a final employment contract on Aug. 11. The motion authorized the mayor to negotiate but retains council approval authority for the final contract.