New Snohomish mayor shake-up eliminates director position

Published 1:30 am Monday, January 12, 2026

EVERETT — The Snohomish City Council confirmed new mayor Aaron Hoffman’s appointment of Ken Klein as city administrator on Jan. 6 and, with it, the elimination of the city’s Director of Public Works position.

Klein will start Friday, at which time he will also assume the responsibilities of the Director of Public Works. The department’s three division leads — utility manager, city engineer, and operations manager — will report directly to him.

Klein’s appointment was confirmed, 6-1, with council member Terry Lippincott voting against. She felt Klein’s proposed salary was too high for one person and worried the next city administrator would want the same, she said.

Hoffman proposed boosting Klein’s 2026 salary to $253,128, including benefits, because he would be taking on two roles.

The city administrator supervises and coordinates all city departments, commissions and boards. The Public Works director oversees the department responsible for parks, streets, stormwater collection and more.

Current city administrator Heather Thomas-Murphy, who was appointed by previous mayor Linda Redmon in 2022, resigned in lieu of termination without cause, she said in an email. Doing so obligates the city to pay a contractual severance.

Nova Heaton was hired in 2022 as the Public Works director after the position had been vacant for five years. At the time, city administrator Steve Schuller took on both roles but proposed re-establishing the Public Works director position in early 2022 before being replaced by Thomas-Murphy.

The city only offers severance to the administrator, so Heaton will not receive the benefit.

Thomas-Murphy’s 2026 salary is expected to be about $211,470 after a 2% cost-of-living adjustment, according to Human Resources Director Rebekah Park. Heaton would have earned $200,500. Thomas-Murphy’s severance will total six months’ salary, or about $105,000.

In the proposal, Hoffman said the move would cut costs — about $170,000 annually in salary and benefits.

“This approach strengthens accountability, improves coordination across departments and results in a net reduction of payroll and benefit costs,” Hoffman said during the Jan. 6 meeting.

A review will take place six months after Klein begins work to evaluate the department’s performance and staffing needs. Hoffman remains open to hiring a manager within Public Works if needed, he said.

Former Snohomish mayor and City Council member Karen Guzak called into the meeting to speak against the proposed reorganization.

“I’m distressed to see the new mayor’s approach to let go of our current Public Works director,” she said. “It distresses me as one who has seen exemplary service of our city administrator, Heather Thomas-Murphy, and our Public Works director — two women who have made huge contributions to the health and well-being of our city — to be let go with little understanding of their significant contributions to our city.”

However, most others who spoke during public comment supported Hoffman’s proposal, including Snohomish resident Fred Gaitan.

“By eliminating the Public Works director position and consolidating executive oversight under the city administrator, the city strengthens accountability,” he said. “This is a practical example of improving effectiveness while remaining fiscally responsible.”

While council member Tom Merrill voted for Klein’s appointment, he remained skeptical the elimination of the Public Works director would be all positive.

“Removing management layer is a very popular thing to do in modern corporations. Oftentimes it’s performative. Sometimes it actually does what it’s supposed to do,” he said. “It can become the bottleneck, not the improvement.”

Klein will step down from his role as Snohomish County executive director. He is working with County Executive Dave Somers and Deputy Executive Kent Patton for a smooth transition of responsibilities, spokesperson Kari Bray said in an email.

Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay