© 2001
The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
All rights reserved

Comments to
Eric Dolson, Publisher

Editorial

City should look hard for administrator

Barbara Warren has announced her retirement effective December 31 (see story, page 1). The City of Sisters needs to find a top-quality manager to succeed her.

Sisters is changing rapidly. Growth and the transformation from a small, touristy residential community to a bustling resort, commercial and light industrial town are forcing local government officials to scramble to keep up.

The new administrator will shape the future of Sisters. A good one can insure that the community maintains a high quality of life --while we work to accommodate the ever-increasing numbers of people drawn here to enjoy it.

The city council should take a page from the playbook of the Sisters School Board, whose search for a new superintendent a few years back was a model of thoroughness.

The council should get search support from the League of Oregon Cities, form a broad committee to review applications and conduct exhaustive interviews. Councilors should visit the cities where the finalists have worked to find out first-hand what kind of job they did and how they fit their communities.

Finally, the council may also want to re-examine the nature of the job itself. It may be hard to attract top-quality applicants to a job that requires the administrator to be her own secretary.

Choosing a new administrator is likely the most important task these councilors will undertake. They must take the time to do it right.

J.C.

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