Loveland appoints deputy manager to interim city manager role

LOVELAND — The Loveland City Council by unanimous vote has appointed deputy city manager Rod Wensing to the position of interim city manager.

He replaces Steve Adams, who resigned last week under pressure from the council to change the direction of city governance.

Wensing has served as deputy city manager since 2006. He previously was town manager in Windsor and before that in Brush.

During his tenure, he has stepped in to lead various departments including the economic development department during a time of vacancy.

He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Minnesota State University and a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado.

City human resources director Julia Holland reported to the council that no member of the 1,000-member city staff volunteered to be considered for the role. However, Mayor Jacki Marsh and Mayor Pro-Tem Jon Mallo met with Wensing to gauge his interest in accepting the temporary role. They learned he would consider it.

Mallo moved to appoint Wensing during the interim and offered him a 5% increase in pay during the time he spends as city manager.

Council members agreed that Wensing was qualified for the role, and when asked he told the council that he would accept as outlined in Mallo’s motion.

“I look forward to serving the community and supporting my teammates, all 1,000 of them,” Wensing said.

The council then directed Holland to begin the process of recruiting a permanent city manager. The council said it wanted to conduct a nationwide search.

Holland said she will need a special appropriation to pay for the process and said if the cost is more than $30,000 that a formal request for proposal process would need to be used. She also said that the city may be able to piggyback on recruitment processes used recently in other communities such as Fort Collins or Dacono. 

Holland was directed to explore the city’s options and to come back at the Feb. 6 meeting with a formal request.