Past city admin to serve as interim

CASCADE LOCKS — The Cascade Locks City Council held a special meeting on Jan. 27 to discuss two pressing issues: the city’s delayed audits and the search for a city administrator.

With the approval of council and City Attorney Ruben Cleaveland, councilor and former Cascade Locks City finance officer Marianne Bump has been volunteering her time to expedite the city’s delayed audits. The city’s 2022-2023 audit is out for final analysis with auditors Aldridge CPAs + Advisors. The 2023-2024 audit is currently in progress.

Bump updated the council, starting with a list of specific documents and records needed for the audit to move forward, most of which she had already gathered. Her deep dive into the city’s financial records showed that, in those years, during which the city was operating without a finance manager, monthly accounts were left unbalanced, and record-keeping was inconsistent. Councilor Bernard Seeger, urging speed, asked if they needed to hire additional help, though Mayor Brenda Wood pointed out that the cost for that would be $250-$450 per hour. Bump suggested that current Finance Officer Chantia Clarke, hired last year, should help. An updated timeline has the files submitted to the auditors by the end of February — though Wood said Bump has them nearly done — with the auditors arriving on May 11 to complete the in-person field work at city hall. The council was grateful for Bump’s volunteer contribution to getting the delayed audits completed.

City admin search

Next up was the vacant position of city administrator (CA). Currently, City Recorder Kathy Woosley is temporarily filling the post with Mayor Wood’s help. Woosley presented the council with a third-party staffing service option, Prothman Interim Staffing and Executive Recruiting. Prothman can be hired to lead the search for a permanent CA, as well as to provide interim staffing.

An interim CA could be difficult to find, Wood said, due to the city’s isolated location and lack of housing. Councilor Tiffany Pruit asked if they’d be able to choose their own interim hire, but Wood replied, “No. It has been set up for Gordon Zimmerman to come in.”

It was unclear if Prothman or Wood had made these arrangements.

Zimmerman was previously the Cascade Locks City Administrator through 2022. Several councilors asked if Prothman might suggest other viable candidates for interim as well, but Wood, Bump, and Woosley urged the group to move quickly in getting an interim in place. Woosley is still performing her regular job of city recorder and stated that she has no interest in permanently serving as CA.

In the end, the council moved to approve the use of Prothman’s services to hire an interim CA as well as permanent one. The process to hire a permanent CA will take six months or so, and Wood assured the council that the interim CA will have no say in the process. Zimmerman started work as the Interim City Administrator on Jan. 28.