A sincere thank you to Yarden Weidenfeld for his work serving the citizens of Federal Way as senior policy adviser to the mayor. He was trusted and knowledgeable and definitely an asset in reviewing city policy. In considering a replacement for this position, it would appear to me to be a good time to have a discussion regarding hiring a city administrator. I believe that a certified city administrator could be hired for approximately the same salary as the senior policy adviser position.

When the council voted on the city code in 2010, Ordinance 10-666, for the “strong” mayor form of government, the council recommended that a city administrator “shall” be hired. The key word here is “shall,” not should or could. As I served on the council at that time, I felt that it would be best for a large city such as Federal Way to have an experienced city administrator as do similar large cities such as the city of Renton and the city of Kent.

As time goes on and other people are elected to the position of mayor, it would be good for the continuity of the city to know that there is an experienced administrator running the day-to-day operations on behalf of the citizens of Federal Way. Please feel free to express your opinion to your current council members.

Linda Kochmar

Federal Way