Wendy Harrison has been appointed interim city manager in Winooski as the city continues to search for the right person to fill the job long-term.
Winooski went through a six-month search for a new executive, but ultimately decided its final candidate was not the right fit for the city.
The Winooski City Council approved a contract with Harrison on Oct. 18 and she stepped into the position on Oct. 25. She is a professional interim administrator and has previously held temporary roles in Brattleboro and Rockingham.
“Wendy comes to us as a professional interim manager with years of local government and town management experience,” Mayor Kristine Lott wrote in her Oct. 22 newsletter.
“I was interested in working in Winooski because of its diversity and its commitment to being welcoming,” Harrison said. “It’s an exciting place to be.”
Winooski’s former city manager, Jessie Baker, left June 1 to become the city manager in South Burlington. Steering the ship since then have been Phoebe Townsend, Winooski’s director of human resources, and Jon Rauscher, director of public works.
Lott said that while Townsend and Rauscher kept things moving during their five months of double duty, the city manager responsibilities were taking away from their regular work and, with budget season on the horizon, they needed some help.
“It felt right to bring in an external interim to add capacity to the team,” Lott said. “We’d been doing the internal thing long enough.”
Now, the city is back on the hunt for a permanent city manager for Vermont’s most diverse city. The city council plans to select a recruiting firm to help with the process on Monday. Lott said the city expects the second search to cost between $10,000 and $30,000.
— Lana Cohen
