Last Minute Change Indicates Possible End to City Manager Search

A last-minute update to the agenda for Tuesday’s Alliance City Council Meeting indicated a possible end to the search for a new city manager, a search that has been ongoing since former city manager Jeff Sprock resigned in September.

An agenda for the Alliance City Council Meeting that was released Friday morning indicated a new direction the city planned to take in finding a manager: hiring a firm to recruit someone to serve as the city manager. However, on Monday, city officials released an updated agenda with an action item labeled, “Approval of Employment Agreement with Seth Sorensen.” The resolution, if approved, would allow the city to enter into an employment agreement with Seth Sorensen to serve as Alliance’s new city manager.

Sorensen had interviewed for the position in December, though the City Council could not agree on a final candidate. At a meeting in December 2020, Mayor Mike Dafney said, “A couple weeks ago, we had managers we interviewed. Long story short, none of them worked out. Council’s decided to start over with the search.”

The renewed search led the council to offer the job to Jeff Hecksel, who declined the offer for personal reasons. City Clerk Tarrah Johnson and Finance Director Randy Waggener have served in the city manager role since Sprock resigned.

Update: At the Alliance City Council meeting Tuesday, council members voted to approve the employment agreement. More details will be provided in next week’s issue of the Alliance Times-Herald.