City administrator vacancy is priority ‘number one’
By Hayden Seder
Sun Valley’s city administrator, Susan Robertson, officially vacated her post on Aug. 2 to take a position in Augusta, Maine. Robertson’s departure has left the position vacant, with other Sun Valley city staff working double duty to take on the tasks required by the position.
The administrator since January 2013, Robertson was responsible for operations of the municipality and carrying out the decisions of the city council and the mayor. With nearly seven years working for Sun Valley, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Robertson’s shoes are big ones to fill, and ones that have traversed many regions across the United States.
Maine will be the seventh state where Robertson has taken on civic work. Robertson started her career in Florida, became a public works assistant director soon after in Wisconsin, and then an assistant city manager in Wyoming. She landed her first city manager position in Silverton, Ore., in the early 1990s. Most recently, she was an assistant city manager for more than three years in upstate New York.
The City of Sun Valley has engaged an executive search firm to begin the task of finding Robertson’s replacement. The firm has been visiting the area since Monday to come up with a profile for the position and a description of what the city is looking for as determined by all city council members and department heads.
“When we get this profile finalized, we’ll have a good idea of all the things we’re looking for,” said Peter Hendricks, Sun Valley mayor.
Hendricks anticipates the profile being completed at the end of that week and the profile to subsequently be advertised in city administrator journals. Hendricks hopes to have the position filled by the first of the year as an executive search like this typically takes anywhere from 12 to 16 weeks.
“It’s a long process and it becomes even longer when holidays are thrown in,” Hendricks said. “I would like the position filled before the first of the year but it depends on who we hire and their availability.”
In the meantime, Hendricks has assumed the executive responsibilities for city administrator while finance director Wendy Crosby and city clerk Nancy Flannigan have also stepped in to help.
“We knew beforehand that some tasks would be more complex than others, but so far, so good,” Hendricks said. “Everybody has shouldered up and taken it on.”
The city has bolstered its staff with additional help given the extra work. Kelly Lockwood was recently hired as a permanent assistant clerk and assistant treasurer, bringing a suite of skills and experiences to the table to assist in Robertson’s absence.
“I think it’ll be a good exercise for all of us to be involved quite heavily for the next three to four months,” Hendricks said. “The budget is behind us, so our number one job is the recruitment of city administrator.”