Mountlake Terrace operating with interim city manager

Published 9:28 am Friday, October 30, 2015

The City of Mountlake Terrace is operating with an interim city manager, and may continue that way for several months.

After former City Manager Arlene Fisher resigned Sept. 11 in lieu of termination, the City Council named Assistant City Manager Scott Hugill the interim city manager.

That is likely to last well into next year.

Hugill said Thursday that the City Council has yet to set up a search process for a new city manager and doesn’t expect to establish a method or timetable until December or January.

Hugill also was interim city manager after longtime City Manager John Caulfield resigned in the summer of 2013. He also suggested a firm that conducted the search that led to Fisher’s hiring in early 2015.

Hugill was not a candidate then and has said he hasn’t decided if he would be a candidate now.

Mountlake Terrace has a council-manager form of government, in which the seven elected part-time city council members appoint a full-time professional city manager as the city’s chief executive officer. The council elects one of its members to have the title of mayor while presiding over council meetings and carrying out ceremonial duties.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.