Whitefish has a new city manager

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

The search for a new Whitefish city manager is over. The job was offered Tuesday night to Chuck Stearns and he accepted.

Stearns, who has more than 20 years of public-service experience, lived in Whitefish from 1980 to 1982. He is currently the town administrator in Georgetown, Colo. He has a degree in finance and business administration from the University of Colorado and a master's in public administration from the University of Montana-Missoula.

Seattle consultant Greg Prothman narrowed a list of applicants down from 64 to 14 candidates. The list was further pared to six finalists with assistance from the council.

An open-house reception for the six finalists took place Nov. 2 and final interviews were conducted Nov. 3 in lieu of a city council meeting. The job was advertised for a salary range of $110,000 to $130,000 a year.

Gary Marks announced his resignation as Whitefish city manager on May 27. He took the city administrator job in Ketchum, Idaho.