City Manager Retiring

Sidney City Manager Ed Sadler recently announced his retirement. He will have completed about four years of service to the community when he leaves office in 2020.

"This is a change for me," Sadler said Thursday.

He said job changes usually include a 30-day notice. With the announcement of his retirement, he offered to stay through the budget process and help in the transition.

He said he has always known Sidney would be his last job. He said he was hired in part to lead the city through the economic changes that began in 2016. Some of the advances he will remember are the new businesses that have come to Sidney since he arrived.

"It almost looks easy, but its not," he said.

He said the most memorable part of the last four years is how well progress has occurred, noting that "all the pieces fell together."

"We've gone through some tough budget times, but I think we're better," he said.

The announcement was made in the Oct. 22 city council meeting. Sadler made the announcement during a line item regarding "Professional RFP (Request For Proposal) Services and Selection and possible action." The RFP is for an agreement with a recruiting agency in hiring a new city manager, Sadler announced.

"I didn't send these to anyone I didn't think are qualified," Sadler told the council.

He said he agreed to stay until a new city manager is appointed. Eleven requests were sent and five

responses returned, he said. He said he expects the process to take about five months, lining up with his projected late February retirement.

Three proposals were submitted to the council for consideration. Councilman Brad Sherman and Mayor Roger Gallaway favored Mercer as the best choice. Mercer was favored in part because the company has a regional office - in the Denver, Colo., area - and its depth of experience.

"I think they're all really close, but fall all around, I favor Mercer," Gallaway said.

He went on to say the process likely will not be quick.

"There's going to be multiple layers of this. I full anticipate every bit of five months," he said.

The council approved working with Mercer Group Inc., a company that specializes in recruiting for government careers, with a 4-0 vote with vice-mayor Joe Arterburn absent.

Sadler's plans to research Williamsburg, VA., while his wife Rachelle finishes her teaching assignment in Sidney. He said he is already looking forward to the historic sites, museums and beaches in the Williamsburg area.

Sadler was hired as Sidney's city manager in March 2016. Prior to coming to Sidney, he worked as city manager for 10 years in Webster City, Iowa, Asset Manager for two years and then five years as Assistant Manager for Aspen, Colo. Prior to city government positions, he worked for seven years with the State of Wyoming Budget Office, seven years as Assistant Manager of the Wyoming Abandoned Mines Program, two years as Director of Land Reclamation for the State of Missouri, five years as Director of Hazardous Waste for the State of Missouri and one year as Director of Water Quality for the State of Arizona.