Camas picks its new city administrator

The current city manager of Cloverdale, Calif., will become the next Camas city administrator.

Camas Mayor Scott Higgins announced this afternoon in a press release that Nina D. Regor has been selected to replace the retiring Lloyd Halverson. Pending approval from the City Council, she will start Jan. 25 and her salary will be $10,651 per month, plus benefits.

Regor has been the city manager in the northern California town located in Sonoma County since 2007. According to its city website, Cloverdale has a population of approximately 11,032.

Regor previously served as the deputy city manager for the City of Spokane Valley, Wash., from 2003 to 2007, and worked for the City of Gresham, Ore., from 1991 to 2003, during which time she was the assistant city manager from 1993 to 2003, executive assistant to the city manager from 1992 to 1993, and a budget analyst from 1991 to 1992.

Regor was born and raised in Clark County. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., and a master of science degree in public management and policy from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

“I’m very excited to become Camas’ next City Administrator,” Regor said in a statement. “It’s like coming home. My grandparents lived here for many years–my mother was raised here and graduated from Camas High School. Everyone I have met so far has expressed pride in the Camas community and optimism for the future, and I look forward to being a part of that.”

The interview process began Wednesday, and included a community social event, city tours with Higgins and Halverson, an informal breakfast event with the City Council, interviews with two panels — one made up of city department heads and the other comprised of local leaders, and a final interview with Higgins.

“It’s been a tough process, but I feel good about it,” Higgins said today. “[The choice] came easily to me after the process.”

The other finalists included Anna Jatczak, assistant city manager/chief financial officer for the City of Lincoln, Calif.; Matt Morton, city administrator for the City of Cle Elum, Wash.; and Tonya Wallace, strategic planning and budget manager/financial services manager for the City of Boise, Idaho.

The four were selected from an initial pool of 70 applicants.

This is the second time the city has embarked on a process to find a new city administrator to replace Halverson, who announced in January his plans to retire after 23 years on the job.

In July, following a 2.5 month in-house search process, Higgins announced that the effort resulted in two finalists but failed to produce a candidate “suitable to the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead for the City of Camas.”

Halverson, who has been Camas’ only city administrator, originally planned to leave behind full-time work in September, but agreed to continue through early spring 2013 when the first search came up empty.

In October, the Camas City Council approved a $23,000 contract with executive search consulting firm Waldron. It includes a one-year search guarantee.