BLAINE, Wash. — City of Blaine City Manager Michael Jones resigned today, Wednesday, June 1st, according to a City of Blaine press release.
According to the press release, Jones will be taking the position of Island County County Administrator. Jones said in an email to Whatcom News that County Administrator is a new position for Island County and he looked forward to working with the Island County commissioners “to craft the role.”
Over the past 15 years, Jones has served in the roles of Community Development Director and, most recently, City Manager for the City of Blaine after being hired on as the permit manager in 2007.
The press release says the city will begin a search for a new city manager “shortly” and “The city council will likely use a recruitment firm to conduct a nationwide search for the next City Manager.”
Blaine operates under the council-manager form of government where the city manager is appointed by the council along with the city mayor. The city manager is responsible for providing policy advice, directing day-to-day operations of city government, personnel functions including hiring and firing employees and is responsible for preparing the city budget. According to Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC), “While it is not as common as the mayor-council form, the vast majority of cities that have incorporated or successfully changed form of government since 1970 have adopted the council-manager system.”