Council seeks public interview process for appointed officials

Mayor Keith Prunty appointed Katherine Terrill, longtime City of Kimball employee, as the City Clerk following Rosie Russell’s retirement.

The process to hire a new City Clerk included accepting applications, of which the City received 12 in just three weeks. The hiring committee, comprised of City Administrator Dan Dean, Chief of Police Andy Bremer, City Treasurer Laurie Sisk, Russell and Prunty, culled three applicants from that group for interviews.

“We used our appointed officials, because they are the ones who have to work with the person and they have expertise in this field,” Prunty said.

Following those interviews, performed by the same hiring committee, Prunty appointed Terrill, who was acting in the City Clerk capacity until an applicant could be hired.

“Katherine Terrill met all the requirements and was the best applicant we went through,” Prunty said. “I understand there are some concerns.”

Council members questioned, on behalf of concerned citizens, the process, where the interviews occurred and the speed with which the position was filled.

“I received several calls on the process, not about the person, just about the process – that we didn’t continue to use a pretty clear, open process like we did when we had the administrator’s position open,” council member Christy Warner said. “For the clerk, as second-in-command, you would think that we would again have a very transparent process.”

James Schnell added that the interviews could have been done outside of the City’s administration building and that the hiring committee should include citizens that are not employed by the City of Kimball.

“People think that we as council and mayors are not open,” Schnell said. “So when we do those interviews, you bring in other people so it doesn’t give it that ‘behind closed doors’ look.”

Council member Kim Baliman said that she was asked why the position was filled so quickly.

“And, what was the matrix for siphoning it down from 12 to three?” Baliman asked.

Prunty explained that those interviewed were the applicants who best fit the needs of the position and that when a dozen applicants were received in a short amount of time, there was no reason to wait longer.

Council reiterated that no one had questioned Terrill’s ability to fill the position, just that the process was quicker than anticipated and less public than the same process for the City Administrator position.

“It is other people’s perspective, not whether that is true or not, but what they believe is true,” Warner said. “Part of what we heard from our constituents is that they want to feel like it is transparent. That means we have to go out of way to make that happen. You had quite a few people come to watch the interview when you interviewed Dan (Dean).”

Council asked that in the future interviews for appointed positions be very open and include leaders outside of the City of Kimball employment. Prunty offered to make a policy for the appointment process in the future.

“I was not trying to be not transparent, I am very open,” Prunty said. “I apologize if the public thought I was trying to cover something up.”

Jim Cederburg spoke from the audience with a public perspective, “What the public expects is to have someone involved with considerable experience in hiring and managing other people. That is what they are looking for.”

Council accepted the Mayor’s appointment of Terrill to the position and approved the contract for her employment. Terrill’s contract is up for review, by Mayor Prunty and the compensation committee, at the end of the year.

Council also voted to forgive the loan amount of $5,173.87 of LB840 funds for Bemis Drug c/o Mike Bemis, who entered into a loan agreement with the City of Kimball Economic Development in June of 2008 in the amount of $55,250. Bemis has fully satisfied all requirements for loan forgiveness.

Other actions taken by the board:

Approved the updated 2017 Local Emergency Operations Plan and passed the accompanying resolution.

Approved a request to forgive a loan granted to Bemis Drug in the amount of $5,173.87 of LB840 funds as all requirements for loan forgiveness have bee satisfied.

Accepted the bid for insurance coverage from Kimball State Insurance in the amount of $270,061.80 over the bid from the League Association of Risk Management in the amount of $267,262.

Approved a Keno grant application in the amount of $1,000 for Christmas in Kimball.

Approved three Business Facade Improvement Grants for Frank Parts Company in the amount of $3,945.50, Plaza Antique Mall in the amount of $824.00 and A Sheer Touch of Downtown in the amount of 1,654.46.

Ratified members of the Application Review Committee and the Citizen’s Advisory Committee.