Story Photos
 Denny Richards, a former police chief in Gig Harbor, will earn the city manager's salary of $120,000. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News
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Kelso council keeps Richards as city manager
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 11:53 PM PST
By Amy M.E. Fischer
Printable version
E-mail this articleDenny Richards, Kelso’s interim city manager, is now the permanent city manager. The Kelso City Council unanimously approved an employment contract with Richards following a 20-minute executive session at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Under the contract, Richards will earn a salary of $120,000 in 2009.
“Denny’s proven to be a valuable addition to our staff,” Mayor David Futcher said after the council vote. Councilmen Gerry Malella and Rick Roberson were absent.
Richards, 64, replaces Paul Brachvogel, who resigned Oct. 24 to become the Cowlitz PUD’s attorney a little more than a year after he was hired as city manager. Brachvogel had served as Kelso’s city attorney since 2002. In summer 2007, when Doug Robinson resigned after 17 years as city manager, the council appointed Brachvogel as interim manager and soon hired him for the permanent position.
After Brachvogel announced in September his plans to leave the city, the council decided to hire a search firm to find someone to temporarily fill in as city manager until a permanent replacement was found. The council interviewed Richards on Oct. 21 and offered him the interim manager job. Less than five weeks later, Futcher announced that he and the council liked Richards so much, they wanted to keep him as city manager.
In doing so, the city will save some, if not all, of the $25,000 fee Prothman Group is charging for the nationwide city manager search.
During his first interview with the council, Richards touted himself as a steady, honest, compassionate leader with a good sense of humor. He frequently visits shop owners and walks around the communities in which he works, he said.
His strength lies in team-building, “working together to come out with a wonderful end product,” he told the council. He’s even been known to bake cookies for staff members, he said.
“I cared about the cities I worked for,” he told the council Oct. 21.
Richards, who has 28-years’ experience in law enforcement, has served as a patrol division commander with the Vancouver Police Department, city manager of Fircrest, Wash., and performed administrative duties for the cities of Sammamish and Battle Ground. In the last year and a half, he has taken on interim roles as city administrator in Long Beach, police chief in Sultan, Wash., and administrator in Jefferson County.
Related articles:
Kelso council adopts spending plan
Kelso names Richards interim city manager (Oct. 22)
Kelso city manager quits to be PUD's lawyer (Sept. 17)
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