Rock Creek council appoints Deputy Clerk Ashley Rauschnot as interim city administrator amid procedural questions

The Rock Creek City Council on April 2 appointed Deputy Clerk Ashley Rauschnot as Interim City Administrator after the City Attorney said she had recommended a different interim in February and council members raised concerns about the handling of an earlier emergency meeting.

City Attorney Amanda Johnson told the council she had provided a detailed agenda in February recommending Ashley Rauschnot as the interim and a draft resolution reflecting that recommendation, clarifying confusion after a letter was sent questioning whether Councilmember Nancy Rys should be voting while serving in an administrative capacity. The council recorded that two motions in March were voted on by Councilmember Rys while she was also acting in an administrative role and entered a statement into the record noting that both motions passed unanimously and the outcome would not have changed had Rys abstained.

Councilmember Don Ramberg moved, and Councilmember Dan Saumer seconded, to appoint Ashley Rauschnot as Interim City Administrator, with Mayor Dick Johnson and Councilmember Nancy Rys assigned as the council committee to oversee the position. The motion carried unanimously. The council scheduled discussion of a retroactive pay increase for Rauschnot at a special meeting on April 16, 2026.

The council also discussed whether the combination of Clerk and Treasurer functions and use of the title "City Administrator" are appropriate; the City Attorney said those topics will be addressed at the next work session. Separately, the City Attorney said she will follow up with Rauschnot within a week about pursuing a forensic audit to ensure the city books are in order.