Richland names interim leader days before longtime city manager leaves
Richland’s assistant city manager will fill the top position in the city for now.
The Richland City Council unanimously picked Jon Amundson as the interim city manager during its Tuesday night meeting. He will fill the role after Cindy Reents steps down Friday.
“Jon has been a valuable member of the Richland leadership team for over a decade,” Mayor Ryan Lukson said in a news release. “He has a strong understanding of the council’s vision for our community and I am confident he is prepared to take on this new role.”
Amundson started with Richland as the assistant city manager in 2008, after working for Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. In Richland, he oversaw the city’s communications, information technology, development services and city clerk departments.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and has a master’s from the University of Kansas.
He became a international city/county management association credentialed manager in 2016. The organization judges applicants based on a combination of education, experience, integrity and commitment to professional development.
“My family and I love this city,” he said. “I am happy to serve the Richland City Council in this capacity and continue the challenging work of improving our quality of life each day,”
The city has not finalized a contract with Amundson. Until they work out a new agreement, he will get a 10% raise.
City officials haven’t started a search for a new city manager to replace Reents.
Last days
Reents is finishing out her final week after 13 years as city manager. The city council and the manager announced in mid-December they were going separate ways.
“While the council and Ms. Reents have mutually chosen to move in a different direction with this position, we recognize and thank her for her contributions to Richland,” Lukson said in a statement at the time.
The terms of the agreement have not been released to the public, but she will be getting six months pay in severance, plus another $7,500.
She made about $193,000 in 2020.
While Lukson and most of the rest of the council called it a mutual split, Councilman Phillip Lemley has said she was being forced out because members of the council didn’t like her.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 12:46 PM.