Council to reconsider administrative hiring process at August 5 Workshop

by  Richard Uhlhorn

At the July 22 City Council meeting four of the seven council members voted no on agenda bill 2025-037D and asked to conduct open recruitment for the upcoming city administrator position.

Councilman Terry Sanders remarked that his comment to open the recruitment effort was not a reflection on Chad Coltman, but that the city administrator position is a critical hire. “We need to have confidence in our decision,” said Sanders.

Councilmen Bob Goedde, Brad Chitty and Jon Higgins all agreed with Sanders position. “It is important that we see who is out there,” said Sanders. Council members Mark Eriks, Tim Hollingsworth and Shari Dietrich all supported the effort to hire internally.

Mayor Erin McCardle wants to promote Communications Director Chad Coltman to the City Administrator position.

It is the Mayor’s perogative to select who will replace Wade Farris who is retiring later this year. As per City policy, the decision has to be ratified by a majority of council.

McCardle stated that Coltman has been with the City for a year and has the support of City staff. “He is someone who is very qualified,” McCardle said. She also stated that hiring a new administrator from outside would have no connection to her or the staff.

With the decision to cancel the hiring process to assess qualifications of Coltman, a new proposal for the hiring process will be brought to the Tuesday, August 5 workshop.