Montezuma County is searching for a new county administrator after current leader Travis Anderson gave notice he is leaving.
Through the county’s public information officer, Anderson said he cannot comment to The Journal because he’s busy finalizing projects before the last day of work Saturday.
County spokeswoman Vicki Shaffer said Anderson is leaving to pursue a job in the private sector, which will allow him to travel more and spend time with family, whom are spread out across the U.S.
“In the interim, the commissioners plan to divide the responsibilities of that position between themselves,” Shaffer wrote in an email. “The county attorney will be drafting a resolution for the interim administration duties that will be discussed at the workshop next week.”
On Tuesday, the job was posted to multiple forums.
According to the listing, the salary for county administrator ranges from $140,000 to $160,000. The county administrator directly oversees department directors and is in charge of implementing policies established by the elected board of county commissioners: Jim Candelaria, Kent Lindsay and Gerald Koppenhafer.
The responsibilities of the job are many: The administrator develops the annual budget eventually approved by the board, tracks pertinent legislation, prepares weekly meeting agendas and public notices, evaluates or hires staff, and represents the county at public-facing events.
“Montezuma County is seeking an experience, forward-thinking county administrator,” the job listing states. “This position plays a critical role in the effective administration of county departments, strategic planning, budget development, and ensuring high-quality public service.”
No deadline for applying is given; rather, submissions are being accepted until the role is filled.
It is possible after a sabbatical, Anderson could return in September on a short-term contractual basis until a new administrator gets hired or trained.
Finding an adequate person for the job is a concern of commissioners. County attorney Stephen Tarnowski said state statute allows the board to take on Anderson’s workload during the two-month time frame. Lindsay said replacing Anderson will be hard.
“Finding an administrator for a job like this seems to be more and more difficult all the time,” Lindsay said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Talking to different counties, they appoint sometimes an interim from inside the administration and that doesn’t seem to work too well.”
Lindsay reminded commissioners to be careful divvying those responsibilities and oversight, making sure no decision-making occurs outside public meetings.
“There’s got to be a captain of this ship,” he said Tuesday. “But I think it can be done. And I think we should ask the attorney to draft a resolution providing those specifications.”
On another note Tuesday, the board appointed Heath Higgins as the Road and Bridge Department’s superintendent; he has trained for the position for about six months, county officials said.
“The commissioners feel that he is ready to take on the responsibilities of that role,” Shaffer said. “We’re excited to have promoted someone from within the department to lead it.”
awatson@the-journal.com
