City administrator interviews will be held in Camas next week

Finalists who hope to become the next Camas city administrator will go through the interview process next week. After initially receiving 70 applications, consultants from Waldron — a firm hired by the city to help with the effort — has narrowed the pool to the top 10 applicants. A selection committee, made up of Mayor Scott Higgins, Human Resources Director Jennifer Gorsuch, City Administrator Lloyd Halverson, retired Public Works Director Monte Brachmann, and Councilman Greg Anderson, are in the process of reviewing the qualifications of the top 10 and will select the four to six people who will be invited to Camas for formal interviews. The community will have the opportunity to meet those finalists during a social event on Wednesday, Dec. 12, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Camas Public Library, 625 N.E. Fourth Ave. The next day, the candidates will attend a breakfast event with the City Council followed by interviews with two panels — one made up of city staff and the other comprised of local leaders including former Camas mayors Nan Henriksen, Dean Dossett and Paul Dennis, Camas School District Superintendent Mike Nerland, Port Executive Director David Ripp, Washougal City Administrator David Scott, WaferTech Facilities Director Jim Short, and Camas City Councilors Tim Hazen and Melissa Smith. The selection committee will then meet to determine which of the finalists will be interviewed on Friday, Dec. 14, by Higgins, who is responsible for making the decision on who is hired to serve as the city’s next leader. The salary range for the Camas City Administrator position is $113,500 to $135,600, plus benefits. The city of 20,200 people is served by 175 full time equivalent city employees, who help provide police, fire, ambulance service and emergency aid, street maintenance, sanitation, recreation, library, public improvements, planning and zoning, water supply treatment and distribution, and sewage collection and treatment services. Higgins said he hopes to have Halverson’s replacement on board within the first quarter of 2013 — and possibly in time for he or she to attend the annual city planning conference on Jan. 25 and 26. This is the city’s second attempt to find a new city administrator to replace Halverson, who announced in January his plans to retire.

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