The City of Trenton is seeking a new Administrator following the firing of its former city administrator and utility services director Ron Urton last month. In July, the City Council voted in a closed session to put Urton on paid administrative. It then voted to terminate him on August 11th. He had served the city since 2016. The city has not released details about the reasons for the firing.
The Council is now moving forward to hire a replacement. At a meeting last week they considered postings for the position, and discussed splitting the position into two separate jobs, one to oversee city staff and the other to oversee its utilities. Councilmember Anna Ferguson considers the options.
Ferguson says, "I feel like that if they're two separate, we can pay them decent wages, but you'll have two people getting a decent wage. And if it's all the same, then we can pay them a lot more and maybe get more qualified people of lying."
Ultimately, councilmembers decided to keep the position as one with a salary range between 80 and 120 thousand dollars a year.
Another major position is also turning over. City Clerk Cindy Simpson retired last week after 45 years of service to Trenton and its residents. Mayor Jackie Soptic says her work has made an impact.
Soptic says, " I did a quick calculation and Cindy has, at minimum attended at least 1,080 council meetings. There's just not a whole lot of words you can say for somebody to get that type of dedication and service to a community. She should be proud of what she's done here."
Simpson is currently serving as the interim city administrator. She will continue in that position until a permanent replacement is found.
