Madras City Council appoints Mayor Mike Lepin as pro tem city administrator after Gus Burrill’s resignation

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) – At a special meeting on Saturday, the Madras City Council appointed Mayor Mike Lepin to serve as Pro Tem City Administrator due to Friday's resignation of former City Administrator Gus Burril.

“Per the city’s charter, when the office of the City Administrator becomes vacant, the Council must appoint a pro tem,” stated City Recorder, Lysa Vattimo. The pro tem has the powers and duties of the administrator, except they cannot appoint or remove personnel without the consent of the Council.

Mayor Lepin stated he will be utilizing vacation leave from his full-time job as Deputy Chief of EMS at Jefferson County Fire and EMS to be available at City Hall.

“I don’t anticipate serving as pro tem for very long and look forward to getting an Interim City Administrator in place as soon as possible so we can restore continuity in the day-to-day business of the city,” stated Mayor Lepin.

“The city charter outlines that a pro tem can serve no longer than six consecutive months. However, the Council has directed staff to begin the recruitment process immediately,” stated Councilor Gabriel Soliz.

HR Director Charo Miller confirmed that the city has already been contacted by several qualified candidates but will post a recruitment in order to seek out all interested parties. Information will be posted on the City’s website at www.ci.madras.or.us sometime later this week.