Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Ortiz accepts position in Iowa

According to the The Daily Freeman-Journal of Webster City, Iowa, Kimball City Administrator Daniel Ortiz has accepted the position of city manager in that city.

Since as early as February 2015 Kimball City Administrator Daniel Ortiz has been on short lists of eligible candidates for administrative positions across the nation.

On February 25, 2015 an article appeared in the Worthington, Minn., Daily Globe listing Daniel Ortiz-Hernandez, of Kimball, Nebr., as one of the top five candidates for the city administrator position in Worthington.

Later that same year, on Dec. 9, 2015, the Livingston Daily of Brighton, Colo., listed Ortiz-Hernandez as a candidate to be interviewed for that city’s manager position.

In the Jan. 13, 2016 edition of the Ames Tribune of Ames, Iowa, Ortiz-Hernandez was listed as one of three candidates interviewing for the assistant city manager position in Ames out of nearly 100 applicants.

On Aug. 10, 2016 Webster City, Iowa radio station listed Ortiz-Hernandez as one of six seeking the city manager position and just six days later The Daily Freeman-Journal of the same city announced that Ortiz-Hernandez was offered and has accepted the position in Webster City, Iowa.

In that publication Ortiz-Hernandez is quoted: “I think part of the reason I applied is because I have such a diverse background. Coming from a city of 50,000 and currently managing a city of 2,500 with a wide array of services and departments like electric, water, and sewer, I felt that skill set matched up well with what the community was looking for,” said Ortiz-Hernandez. “My wife and I currently have a ten-month old and we’re expecting a second child in December or January so we really want to be in a community where we can raise our family.”

In the Freeman-Journal story, Webster City mayor John Hawkins is quoted as saying that Ortiz-Hernandez has accepted the position and will begin pending contract approval at the next City Council meeting.

When asked if the news was correct, via email, Ortiz replied, “My resignation has not been tendered. Nothing is official unless I tender my resignation.”