City of Decorah may use a consulting firm to help hire a new City Administrator

The City of Decorah may seek outside help in seeking a successor to City Administrator Jerry Freund, who has announced his retirement as of September.

The city's Personnel Committee discussed the idea Tuesday night.  And while city council members want to get actual price quotes from consulting firms before making the decision, most of the city council members seemed to favor the idea.

City council member Paul Wanless said the City Administrator position is important and "you want to do (the search) right."  City council member Rachel Vagts says having the city do its own search would require "significant" staff time.

Decorah Mayor Don Arendt cautioned the committee that it would also have to make decisions on the job description for a new City Administrator--especially whether the job should include planning and zoning responsibilities now shouldered by Freund.  "We have to know what we're looking for," he said.

Arendt and three city council members will meet later this month to review proposals from recruitment firms.