Republic swears in Colton Harris as city administrator; staff outline City Hall move and utility-billing changes

Colton Harris was sworn in as Republic's city administrator at the start of the council meeting and delivered his first staff report, thanking council and staff and highlighting several near-term administrative changes.

Harris, who took the oath of office on the dais, said he had been on the job two days and described 2025 as a year of accomplishments. "We have a new budget solution. We have the new software additions to to make payroll better," he said, and added City Hall is "almost complete" with staff moves planned later in the week and an open house in early spring.

Harris announced a utility-billing system change intended to modernize transactions and allow electronic payments; a mailer about the change will go out the next day and the new system is scheduled to go live Feb. 1. He also said the city's annual report is targeted for early February and will summarize accomplishments from 2025.

Harris noted that candidate filing for four council seats began the morning of the meeting. He listed seats up for election as council member Ward 1, Ward 2, and two at-large seats (Wards 3 and 4) for four-year terms; filing after the initial day requires an appointment with the city clerk, and filing closes Dec. 30 from 3 to 5 p.m.

Mayor (Speaker 1) and council members welcomed Harris. Council member Campbell (Speaker 3) said, "Welcome, Colton. It's gonna be an honor to serve alongside you." The mayor praised staff work on the new City Hall and community events and closed with holiday remarks.

The meeting also included routine agenda business and votes on ordinances and a resolution (see separate article for actions and recorded votes). The city administration's next public steps are the utility-billing rollout on Feb. 1, staff relocation to City Hall later in the week, and a public open house in early spring.