On February 2, Mr. Bruce Loney officially notified the city of his intentions to retire after 22 years of outstanding service to the City of Shakopee. Soon after, staff began the search for our next City Engineer and Director of Public Works.

Applications were solicited as part of an initial search, however after a review of resumes, staff reopened the search due to the quality of candidates received. Subsequently, first and second round interviews were conducted involving a variety of city staff and officials including employees of the Engineering and Public Works divisions. A thorough background check has been conducted for the final candidate.

Based upon this process, staff recommends that the City Council authorize the hiring of Steve Lillehaug as the city's next City Engineer and Director of Public Works, subject to the completion of a pre-employment physical and drug test.

Mr. Lillehaug has over 13 years experience working for municipalities including the cities of Edina and Minnetonka where he served as their Assistant City Engineer, and in Brooklyn Center as the City Engineer and Director of Public Works. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Kansas State University.  He is both a registered Professional Engineer with the State of Minnesota and a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer.

The proposed compensation and benefits for Mr. Lillehaug are as follows:

1. Starting salary of Step A, Grade 12 of the City's 2017 Non-Union Pay Plan ($134,644 per year).

2. Vacation of 160 hours annually.

3. Sick Leave at the standard accumulation rate and cap as designated in the Personnel Handbook.

Mr. Lillehaug will need to complete the required pre-employment physical and drug test and provide notice to his current employer. His anticipated start date is July 12, 2017.