OTHELLO — Spencer Williams was appointed as interim Othello city administrator Monday, but not before a discussion on who the city administrator should be. Council member Marc Spohr said he thought it should be the new mayor, Ken Johnson. 

Othello City Council members voted in December to change city ordinances governing the roles of mayor and city administrator. Spohr said he thought the December vote was wrong. 

“If these (votes) are determined to be illegal, which I have been instructed they are, then right now Ken Johnson is city administrator,” Spohr said. “I think what they did in these ordinances was more retaliatory and vindictive than beneficial to the city.” 

Former Mayor Shawn Logan was working as the city administrator in addition to his elected role as mayor, which required a change in city ordinances. After Logan was defeated for reelection, council members changed the ordinance to split the two jobs. Spohr said the previous council made a mistake in revising the ordinance after the election.  

During the mayoral campaign, Johnson said he thought the two roles should be separate and that he didn’t want the city administrator job, which he confirmed during Monday’s meeting. Spohr argued that it didn’t matter. 

“You can’t change a position, roles and responsibilities between the time of the election and when they take office. You pay a certain fee for that position and that compensation,” Spohr said. “You can’t change that.” 

Spohr said Johnson and Logan were charged a filing fee that included the salary for the city administrator job as well as the mayor's. Since that was the case, Spohr said he thought city officials needed a legal opinion before appointing a new city administrator. 

“When Ken ran for mayor, the expectation was that the position was city administrator and mayor,” said council member Kelli Camp.  

The actual office Johnson and Logan filed for, according to the Washington State Auditor’s Office, was the mayor's.  

Williams said that when it came to setting salaries, the two jobs were considered separately. 

“They’re two different salary amounts. Those are both set by the independent salary commission,” Williams said.  

The filing fee was, and is, set by the Adams County Auditor’s Office. Auditor Heidi Hunt did not return a phone call or email asking about the filing fee by press time. 

Spohr was the only no vote on the resolution to appoint Williams to the interim job. Williams said city officials plan to start by looking in Othello. 

“Our goal is to advertise internally, as Mayor Johnson and I have been discussing this over the last few weeks,” Williams said. “Our goal is, first of all, to find somebody that’s an Othello person that can be here for many years to come.” 

Williams said city officials would look outside Othello if they couldn’t find a suitable candidate in town. Council member Chris Dorow said he would support looking outside of Othello from the beginning.  

“It’s fine to prioritize Othello, but a lot of city administrators who took this job moved to Othello and stayed for quite a while,” Dorow said. 

Council member Angel Garza asked if Johnson had an estimate for the search. Johnson said he hoped to find someone within three months.