Council to vote on interim city manager

The Kalispell City Council will vote Monday on a proposed contract for an interim city manager who would start working Jan. 1, 2012.

Mayor Tammi Fisher and City Attorney Charles Harball have been negotiating with David Nielsen, a retiring city attorney in Helena, to take the job.

“[Nielsen] has had the opportunity to act as interim city manager for Helena in the past and is well qualified and suited to act in this position for the city of Kalispell,” Fisher and Harball wrote in a memo to the council.

Kalispell City Manager Jane Howington leaves to take an identical job in Newport, R.I., at the end of December.

Paid $3,000 every two weeks under the proposed contract, Nielsen would work for 150 days or until Kalispell hires a permanent city manager to replace Howington.

Nielsen, who is 62, also would receive a city vehicle — or federal mileage reimbursement if no vehicle is available — as well as vacation time, sick leave and a cellphone. He already has health insurance and will not receive that through the city.

After 15 years on the job, Nielsen announced in November that he would retire as Helena’s city attorney at the end of December, according to the Helena Independent Record.

Nielsen grew up in Bozeman, got an undergraduate degree in industrial and management engineering at Montana State and started working for the city of Helena in 1996 as its first in-house attorney, according to the report.

A job posting for Kalispell’s city manager position offers an annual salary of $95,000 to $125,000 depending on qualifications. It runs through Jan. 13.

Fisher said she hopes to have the permanent city manager position filled by May 2012, and appointed six people to a selection committee that will narrow down the pool of qualified applicants.

The selection committee includes Dennis Beams, Lex Blood, Patti Gregerson, Tom Jentz, Jayson Peters and council member Kari Gabriel.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.