Eagan Officials Begin Hunt for New City Administrator

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Someone with integrity, proven strategic thinking capabilities and a good sense of humor.

Those are just a few of the requirements Eagan City Council members hope to find among the candidates applying for Eagan's soon-to-be vacant city administrator job.

On Monday, council members met with a representative from Twin Cities recruitment firm Brimeyer Fursman to lay out a road map for the recruitment and selection of a new administrator—a process that will likely be completed late in January 2013.

The hunt for a new administrator began in September, when Eagan's current city administrator, 36-year veteran Tom Hedges, announced that he plans to retire in February. Hedges, the city's first and only administrator, was hired in 1976.

Over the last several weeks, Brimeyer Fursman representatives met individually with city staff and elected officials to draft a description of the position and the desired and required characteristics of a successful candidate for the position.

Required qualifications for the position include: a Bachelor's degree in public administration or business administration, a minimum of 10 years in municipal government or a comparable organization, with at least five years in an executive position and a strong sense of honesty, among other characteristics.

Click on the attached PDF documents to view Brimeyer Fursman's "Position Profile".

The description will be used in advertisements for the position, which will be distributed by Brimeyer Fursman in the coming days.

"This is the culmination of my interviews with you, with staff, with descriptions of the community that I've pulled off your websites," Brimeyer Fursman President Richard Fursman said at the meeting on Monday. "This is the main recruitment tool; it provides a snapshot of the community."

The document will also serve as a benchmark or measuring tool by which the council can screen candidates to determine whether they meet qualifications, Fursman said.

Fursman hopes to present a list of 12-15 top candidates to the council later this year. On Dec. 11, the council is expected to narrow the field to five finalists, who will likely meet for one-on-one and group interviews with the council on Jan. 17 and 18. A public reception for the candidate to meet with community members may also be included in the hiring process, Fursman said.

The salary range listed for the Eagan city adminstrator position is  $133,032 to $154,000.