Longview City council directs staff to prepare employment contract for Jennifer Wills

Longview City — The Longview City Council on Jan. 2, 2025 voted to direct staff to negotiate and prepare an employment contract for Jennifer Wills for the city manager position, with council members instructing the HR director and interim city attorney to return a negotiated agreement for consideration at a future open meeting. The motion passed after public comment and council discussion.

Council member Halverson, who said the choice had been difficult, urged the council to slow the process and review search procedures before finalizing a hire. “This has been one of the hardest decisions I've faced during my time on council,” Halverson said, saying he respected Wills’s capabilities but had concerns about the search process and the scope of candidates provided by the search firm.

The motion directed staff to negotiate a contract for council approval; council voted vocally in favor and the mayor announced the motion carried. The transcript records multiple “aye” responses and one opposition; the vocal tally recorded in the meeting indicates six in favor and one opposed. The council did not record individual member votes in the transcript excerpted here; the mayor said a roll-call could be held but the motion was announced as carried.

Why it matters: the city manager runs day-to-day operations and implements council policy, and the council emphasized the importance of confidence in the selection process. Halverson noted the council had allocated $34,000 to a search firm and said he was concerned the council received only four finalists and lacked fuller visibility into how the firm selected candidates. He said that raised questions about whether the city had fully explored all options for the post.

Public comment at the meeting ranged from support for Wills to calls for delay. One resident who identified herself as Arlene criticized the search results and said, “This city has wasted $34,000... I think Jen is an excellent choice for a city manager, however, not right now.” Sean Higgins, identified by name in the record, said he agreed with Arlene and that Wills’s performance as parks leader suggested she could succeed as city manager: “I can only assume that, as city manager, she'll excel in the same way.” Other residents praised Wills’s energy and urged the council to proceed.

The council gave staff an expedited timeline to prepare the contract, with several members asking that a negotiated agreement be returned as soon as possible and suggesting a short special meeting the following week or that the item be brought back at an upcoming meeting. The mayor instructed the HR director and interim city attorney to bring a negotiated contract for consideration in a future open meeting; the council settled by consensus to try to meet a short timeline (council discussed the possibility of a special meeting prior to a workshop scheduled Jan. 30).

The action taken at the meeting is directional: it does not itself employ Wills. The council motion authorizes staff to negotiate and prepare an employment contract that the council will consider and vote on in a future open meeting before any employment authorization is finalized.

The meeting opened with an executive session referenced as “pursuant to RCW 40 two-thirty one-ten-one,” described in the record as discussion of applicant qualifications for public employment and legal risk; the council recessed and later reconvened to consider the motion. The mayor announced the motion carried and confirmed the next regular and special meeting dates at adjournment.

Votes at a glance: motion to direct staff to negotiate and prepare an employment contract for Jennifer Wills — outcome: motion carried (direction to staff); vocal tally in the meeting: yes 6, no 1; mover/second: not specified in the excerpt; individual member votes not specified in the transcript.

Ending: The council closed the meeting after confirming meeting dates; the HR director and interim city attorney are to return a negotiated agreement to the council for action at a future open meeting.