Hyattsville Progressing on Key Admin Hires

City Council members got an update on the status of three high-level positions in Hyattsville's city government administration; the long vacant city administrator post, as well as the more recently vacated city clerk and director of public works. 

According to Chris Vermillion, human resources director for the city of Hyattsville, hiring committees for each of the positions have been steadily progressing through the recruitment and hiring process.

"We are finally moving forward, and the pace is quickening," said Mayor Marc Tartaro. "This is a great thing for everybody."

Don't say that the city isn't casting a wide net for its next city administrator. Vermillion revealed that the city had identified 20 candidates for the city administrator position. So far, two have dropped out, leaving 18 active candidates for the job. The hiring committee now has to decide on an assessment tool to submit to each candidate for evaluation. 

The city administrator position has been vacant since Gregory Rose resigned the post in Oct. 2011.

Vermillion said that there are now five candidates for the public works director position. Two are local, from Washington, DC and Berwyn Heights. The other three are from out of state. Draft questions for the public works director candidates are now ready for the hiring committee to review.

The director of public works positions has been vacant since this past March, when Patrick Ryan resigned to take a job closer to home.

Officials have also identified six city clerk candidates for an initial interview. Two of the candidates live in Hyattsville, a third lives in Waldorf and a fourth is from Columbia, Md. The other two hail from farther off, with one applicant from Alaska and the other from Florida. 

The clerk candidates have also submitted writing samples. According to Vermillion, the hiring committee for the city clerk is "now ready for the next step."

The clerk position has been vacant since Doug Barber took a job leading Rockville's municipal clerk office this past spring.

The city council later met behind closed doors to discuss, among other topics, specific interview questions to ask city administrator candidates.