Barry Cook

With the help of an outside consultant, the City of Cody has launched a search for a new city administrator.

At their Nov. 5 meeting, the Cody City Council voted to hire a Colorado-based consulting firm to help them find a new administrator. Applications are being accepted through Dec. 20.

The administrator, who answers to the mayor and council, oversees the day-to-day operations of the city. They directly supervise department heads and indirectly supervise all 125-plus employees within the city’s $46.3 million budget.

After serving in the role for over a decade, current City Administrator Barry Cook plans to retire next summer. It will cap some 45 years of public service in three counties and 10 cities across the State of Wyoming. He headed the City of Green River for 18 years before being hired by the Cody City Council in August 2014.

In a news release announcing Cook’s retirement, outgoing Mayor Matt Hall praised the administrator’s “dedicated service to the Cody community.”

Cook said he’d been eyeing 2025 as his retirement year for some time, adding that he’s been “starting to get a little burned out.” 

“It’s been a good ride,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot and ended up in the best place in the state; I really love Cody and it’s been a great place to end my career.”

Between now and his departure at the end of June, Cook wants to help develop next year’s budget, hire a new community development director and assist the city council with selecting and onboarding his replacement.

In a brochure for the job, the city says it’s looking for someone who is a: communicator; leader; politically astute; community-minded; collaborator; financial acumen; results-oriented; problem solver; strategic thinker; forward-focused; adaptable; talent manager; and relationship builder.

Part of the job, the document says, will involve balancing the benefits and challenges of growth and working to develop the city’s vision with the newly elected council. Cody will have an almost entirely brand new government next year, with four new council members and new Mayor Lee Ann Reiter; only two current council members are set to stay on. 

The councilors and mayor will collectively hire the city’s next administrator.

According to the brochure, candidates should have at least a bachelor’s degree and seven to 10 years of experience in municipal government, including five years in senior management. The listed salary range is $135,000 to $170,000.

The firm assisting with the job search, KRW Associates, will receive $18,000 to help recruit and vet the candidates.

Earlier this year, KRW provided similar assistance with the city’s searches for a recreation, aquatics and facilities director (charging $19,000) and planner/community development director ($12,500). 

After a nationwide search, the city tabbed a longtime employee, Mike Fink, to become the recreation director in April.

The city believed it had hired a new community development director in May, but that candidate, Craig Raymond, backed out after receiving an offer from the City of Pasco, Washington, that more than doubled Cody’s $98,000 salary.

“We just can’t compete in that,” Cook said. “The market is such where there’s a lot of cities that are looking for directors, and they [director candidates] can just name the price ...”

The city has tabbed longtime planning department employee Utana Dye as the interim director. Filling the role permanently or restructuring the department is high on Cook’s to-do list, as he said the department needs more personnel.

“They got a lot of work to do, and they’re just getting hammered,” he said.

Before rehiring KRW for the city administrator search, Cook said some members of the council expressed concerns about the price tag; the firm offered a $5,500 discount in coming to the $18,000 figure.

Cook praised KRW’s work, saying they have “extensive expertise in the state of Wyoming and Rocky Mountain area.” Late last year, the City of Powell hired the firm for $19,500 to help hire a new police chief — a process that drew three dozen applications and resulted in the hiring of then-Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Rhea.

More information about Cody’s city administrator position is available at codywy.gov/cityadmin.