The city of Whitefish has hired Adam Hammatt to be its next City Manager.
Mayor John Muhlfeld Thursday afternoon announced the selection of Hammatt, who is the current village administrator for the village of Kimberly, Wisconsin.
In Kimbely, Hammatt heads all major city departments including police, fire, public works, parks and recreation, finance and facilities maintenance. Kimberly has a population of about 6,000 and the village is east of Appleton, Wisconsin, just west of Lake Michigan in central Wisconsin.
Hammatt earned his master of public administration from the University of Montana, juris doctor from the University of Montana, and a bachelor’s in political science from Montana State University.
He is a native of Montana who previously served as an EMT/safety officer for St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula and as a firefighter/paramedic for Great Falls Fire Rescue.
Hammatt is also credentialed through the ICMA Voluntary Credentialing Program and is a certified public manager. Before his tenure with the Kimberly, Hammatt worked as the village administrator for the village of Suamico and as the city administrator for the city of Elroy, both in Wisconsin.
There were five finalists for the Whitefish job. The city held interviews with the top candidates for the job last week.
“We had an excellent pool of candidates to choose from, and we are grateful and appreciative to all of the candidates who applied for this position,” Muhlfeld said in a prepared release.
Hammatt is expected begin work in Whitefish on Feb. 21. He has family in Great Falls, and is excited to return to Montana with his wife and children, according to the city.
Chuck Stearns, who has served as city manager for the past eight years, is set to retire in early 2017.
The latest set of candidates is the second go-around in the city’s search for a replacement for Stearns.
City Council in mid-August selected four finalists for the job. One candidate dropped out in early September and the city selected another candidate to add to its list of finalists.
All four finalists met with city leaders and staff during an interview process and met with the public during an open house in September.
However, the top two candidates for the position dropped out. The city offered the job to Chuck Winn, assistant city manger of Bozeman, but after several days of discussion he turned down the job. Another finalist, Ken Decker, county administrator for Caroline County, Maryland, also withdrew his application.
City Council in September decided to again advertise the position.