What a difference a week makes.
For the second week in a row, Winnebago City Council held a special meeting on a Tuesday to discuss how to fill the city administrator’s position.
Council members decided to offer the job to deputy city clerk Judi Hynes, after their first choice Robert Harris III turned them down.
“I made a point to talk to people in this town and had nothing but positive feedback to making Judi the city administrator,” says Mayor Scott Robertson. “We need to get on with things.”
Council members agreed it was best to hire Hynes rather than reopening the search process for new applications.
Councilman Paul Eisenmenger says putting the job back out for bids would be a gamble and wouldn’t be fair to Hynes.
“If we take a chance of not getting anybody at all to apply and then going back and saying, ‘Judi, will you accept the job now,’ I think that would be an absolute kick in the teeth,” he says.
Last week, Eisenmenger made a motion to hire Hynes after she and Harris were interviewed by the full council. But, it died for lack of a second.
This time, Eisenmenger’s motion to offer Hynes the job was approved on a 3-0 vote.
With an OK from Hynes, council members kept the meeting open to the public to discuss a salary and benefit package.
The council agreed to pay Hynes an annual salary of $52,582 plus retirement and insurance benefits for a total of $71,448.
At the recommendation of City Attorney David Frundt, Councilman Tim Hynes resigned due to a conflict of interest created by the hiring of his wife.
The city will be advertising in local mediums and social media to the fill the deputy city clerk and council vacancies. Applications will be accepted through March 18.
The person selected to be on the council will serve until a special election in November. The person elected then will finish out the final two years of Hynes’ four-year term that ends in January 2025.
Anyone wanting more information may contact City Hall at 507-893-3217 or visit the the city’s website at www.cityofwinnebago.com.