RATHDRUM — Leon Duce already feels at home in North Idaho as Rathdrum's new city administrator.

Duce, who has worked the past 19 years at the Association of Idaho Cities in Boise and grew up in Kellogg, has hit the ground running at Rathdrum amid budget workshop season.

"Rathdrum brings me closer to home," the 45-year-old said.

Duce said he has been itching to branch into city administration, and Rathdrum offered him that opportunity.

"Rathdrum has been run very well in the past," Duce said. "I want to see what's going on in the community, what's working and what isn't and get an education before jumping at any drastic changes."

Duce replaces Brett Boyer, who became Hayden's city administrator in February. Boyer was Rathdrum's city administrator for 10 years.

Duce, who started working at Rathdrum last week, said he's looking forward to working on projects such as developing the city's Rathdrum Mountain property for recreation opportunities, and working with the school district, chamber of commerce and other groups to help guide the city through future growth.

Mayor Vic Holmes said Duce's knowledge of cities made him stand out during the search process.

"He's trained city administrators, mayors and council members on state law and how to get things done right," Holmes said. "We're confident that we found the right guy."

Duce has been AIC's deputy director for the past four years. Prior to that he held multiple positions — including bookkeeper, systems administrator, meeting planner and lobbyist for the nonpartisan nonprofit that is owned, organized and operated by Idaho's city governments.

"One of my main roles at AIC was to work on policies and technical assistance for cities," he said.

After graduating from Kellogg High School, Duce, who will make $90,000 per year at Rathdrum, earned a bachelor's degree in accounting at Idaho State University. He was a staff accountant at the city of Pocatello while he attended ISU.

Duce and his wife have five children.