by Alan McArthur
Landmark reporter
The City of Parkville announced it is ready to hire a new city administrator at a board of aldermen meeting on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, the board will vote whether to hire Shannon Thompson, the former city administrator for the city of Monmouth, Ill. Monmouth is located on the west side of the state, west of Peoria and south of Davenport, Iowa.
Gerry Richardson, Parkville mayor, said he has discussed the terms of employment with Thompson, but the actual contract would be voted on at the meeting on Tuesday.
Richardson said the terms of the agreement will be a salary of $75,000 for Thompson and a monthly car allowance of $420, as well as moving expenses.
Richardson said Thompson would start no later than Tuesday, Nov. 10.
David Olson, interim city administrator, will continue to work for the city, with fewer hours, according to Richardson. Richardson said Olson would also continue the city’s search for a new police chief to replace the retiring Bill Hudson.
According to a press release from Parkville, Thompson has over eight years of experience managing cities around the size of Parkville. She has a Masters degree in political science with emphasis in public administration from Western Illinois University.
The release states Monmouth has a budget of $23 million and has 58 full-time and 30 part-time employees.
In 2000, Monmouth’s population was 9,841 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Parkville’s population in 2000 was 4,059 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The previous city administrator for Parkville was Joe Turner who resigned in April. Turner made a salary of more than $85,000.
Comparatively, Platte City hired Jason Metten in September to replace Keith Moody. Metten was hired with a salary of $75,000 and Moody was making around $73,000. Moody recently was hired at the city of Harrisonville, population 9,000, for a salary of $92,000.
A phone call to Thompson from The Landmark on Thursday was not immediately returned.
