TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
On Aug. 3, 2022, Mayor Steve Hass announced the appointment of Merrill Police Chief Corey Bennett and City Engineer and Public Works Director Rod Akey to the position of interim co-City Administrators for the City of Merrill.
In the wake of current City Administrator Dave Johnson’s announcement that he will retire in early Oct. 2022, the Common Council met and decided that they would seek internal candidates to act as interim City Administrator. The Common Council also agreed to set up an ad hoc committee to review the role and corresponding responsibilities and to determine if any changes should be made to the job title or description prior to recruiting for a new hire.
Prior to the announcement on Aug. 3, the Merrill Common Council met in closed session to interview three candidates who applied internally for the position of interim City Administrator and then voted to appoint Bennett and Akey jointly as co-Administrators of the City.
“Both will act as a team during the transition of the current City Administrator and until a new person is selected to fill the lead role,” Hass said. “Both Bennett and Akey expressed their desire to involve other department heads and City employees to keep the City moving forward.”
“Both of these men have the experience and skills to provide a seamless transition,” he said. “I look forward to working with them both.”