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Consultants kick off Washington city administrator search; council agrees timeline and negotiable terms
Summary
Consultants outlined a recruitment plan for a new city administrator: ads go live Oct. 3–Nov. 3, on‑site finalist interviews are planned for Dec. 3–4, and a Jan. 5 start date was suggested. Council discussed qualifications, a competitive salary range (transcript quoted figures) and severance as a negotiable recruitment term.
Consultants from Arndt Municipal Support led a kickoff of the Washington city administrator search, laying out a recruitment calendar, candidate screening process and interview logistics meant to attract a stable long‑term administrator.
"We'll be advertising on the city's behalf," Jim Arndt told the council, explaining the firm will prepare a job announcement and brochure, advertise regionally and nationally, and manage preliminary screening. He said the ad schedule will run Oct. 3–Nov. 3 and that consultants expect multiple applicants and will present a candidate portfolio for council review.
The consultants proposed a competitive starting salary expressed in the transcript as a range (consultant initially cited "$1.70 to $1.85" and the group later moved toward a range near "$1.60 to $1.80"). The transcript does not specify units for those quoted figures; council discussion treated the numbers as the base salary range the city would advertise and negotiate. Consultants urged a competitive package to attract candidates and noted benefits, vacation, IMRF treatment and relocation assistance are part of the offer package.
Councilmembers discussed minimum qualifications and flexibility: consultants recommended a bachelor’s degree as required with a master’s preferred and 7–10 years of management experience; council members generally supported preferred credentials but said they would not automatically exclude strong nontraditional candidates.
On severance, consultants said 20 weeks is a common maximum under state statute but several councilmembers favored a lower starting point (for example, 12 weeks) or leaving severance negotiable within a cap. "The more you have to pay in the form of severance, the less likely you are to terminate somebody unless they really need to be terminated," one councilmember said; consultants framed severance as both candidate protection and a recruitment tool.
The consultants described finalist on‑site interviews and deliberations over two days in December (the consultant proposed Dec. 3–4), with the goal of presenting an offer in early December and a potential start date in early January. They recommended stakeholder panels, department head interviews and community tour guides as part of finalist review; council members favored inviting representatives from other taxing bodies and boards and agreed to finalize panel composition later.
The council did not make a final appointment at the meeting; next steps include consultant follow‑up interviews with individual council members, publication of the ad on Oct. 3, and subsequent candidate screening and finalist interviews.
