Public invited to meet city admin finalists
Published 10:12 am Monday, September 15, 2014
The city of Austin is inviting residents to meet the (potential) new boss.
City officials will hold a public reception for the four city administrator candidates starting at 4:15 p.m. Friday inside the Austin Public Library.
The candidates will meet with department heads, city staff and tour the city on Friday, followed by the reception. Austin Mayor Tom Stiehm and the Austin City Council will interview each candidate Saturday and hope to select the new city administrator that afternoon.
Kandis Hanson, Andrew Morris, Pat Oman and Steve Wilke will travel to Austin for city interviews on Sept. 19 and 20.
Hanson is the city manager in Mound, Minnesota. Before she took that job in 2000, she was city administrator in Kasson, Minnesota, and Eyota, Minnesota. She earned her bachelor’s degree in human environment/home economics as well as a master’s degree in local government management from Mankato State University.
Morris has been city manager for Moberly, Missouri, since 2007. Before that, he was an administrator or manager in Ottumwa, Iowa; Hannibal, Missouri; and Macon, Missouri.
Morris earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ottawa University in Kansas and a master’s degree in public administration from Arkansas State University.
Oman is the city administrator for Moose Lake, Minnesota. Before he took that job in 2013, he held economic development and community development jobs in Carlton County, Minnesota, East Central Regional Development Commission in Mora, Minnesota, and Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. He earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and history from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and master’s degrees in business administration and manufacturing systems from the University of St. Thomas. He has also completed doctoral coursework in public administration at Hamline University.
Wilke has been the city manager of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, since 2000. Before that, he worked for the village of Mahomet, Illinois, and Farmer City, Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s degrees in business administration and public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Meet the city administrator finalists
When: 4:15 p.m. Friday
Where: Austin Public Library, 323 Fourth Ave. NE
Candidates: Kandis Hanson, Andrew Morris, Pat Oman and Steve Wilke