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Council selects Linda Sater as preferred city clerk candidate; council authorizes negotiations and contingency steps
Summary
Council authorized the mayor to negotiate with Linda Sater for the city clerk position and set contingencies—negotiations with the second finalist or re‑opening the applicant pool—if talks fail.
The City Council on May 20 selected Linda Sater as its preferred candidate for city clerk and authorized Mayor Andrew Ross to negotiate an employment agreement on the council’s behalf.
Council members said both finalists—Linda Sater and Catherine Paylor Amaya—were well qualified. Sater’s experience as a sitting city clerk in another state led several members to describe her as “plug‑and‑play” for functions that the council prioritized, including records management, document management systems, and administrative support to council. Several council members cited Sater’s experience with a centralized contract repository, calendar management practices, and document‑management implementations in Olathe (as discussed during interviews) as reasons to prefer her.
Councilmember Fernandez and others noted Paler Amaya (recorded as Catherine Paylor Amaya in the public interviews) also interviewed well and would be a capable clerk, but expressed concern about the Florida‑specific experience and certification timeline for that candidate. The mayor and council discussed process constraints: the council—as the hiring authority for charter officers—must approve any contract; the mayor was authorized to negotiate the terms but cannot unilaterally hire.
Council then voted to authorize a fallback: if negotiations with Sater do not result in a contract, the mayor is authorized to negotiate with the second finalist, Catherine Paylor Amaya. Council also asked HR to re‑review the existing applicant pool and to invite additional candidates for interviews if HR’s review does not identify an adequate alternate from the original applicants.
Councilmembers discussed interim coverage if the new clerk is not immediately available; staff said they would seek an interim clerk via professional networks or use available city staff temporarily and would consider consulting help, including retired clerks, if needed.
Formal contract terms will return to council for approval. No employment contract was executed at the meeting; council gave the mayor negotiated authority and contingency direction to HR.
