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Finalists for the position of city administrator for North Branch will be invited to a special interview process September 26.  Council and city department heads will question four candidates throughout the day.  It is planned that the council will decide who to extend an offer to as soon as possible.

North Branch has been without a full-time city administrator since the end of December 2023 when Renae Fry and the city parted ways through a separation agreement.  (Fry has since found employment as Steele County MN administrator.) 

Interim City Administrator Lynda Woulfe and recruiting consultant Jeff Weldon, for GMP, walked council through the application process, with 20 names submitted. A few candidates withdrew, which is not untypical.  According to Weldon,   reports concerning council meeting dynamics were off-putting to one of the applicants who withdrew. Finalists are: former Becker County administrator Patrick Oman; project engineer for Interstate Engineering Holly Wilson; former city administrator for Credit River MN Cathleen Reynolds, and Crosby MN City Administrator Matthew Hill.

Mayor Kevin Schieber then led the full council through an hour-long discussion on setting the 2025 budget and levy.  The council was to act on adopting the maximum 2025 budget/levy at its next session.

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