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Keokuk’s Aaron Burnett to be new City Administrator in Mason City

City Administrator Aaron Burnett

MASON CITY – The current City Administrator in Keokuk, Iowa – Aaron Burnett – will be hired in Mason City for the same position.

Sources tell NIT that hiring will be announced later Monday.

“He’s an honest guy,” our source says.

Eerily similar to Mason City, Keokuk’s City government is led by Keokuk’s mayor and city council and employ’s a City Administrator, Keokuk’s city web site explains. City leaders work closely with the Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce and Keokuk Economic Development Corporation, as well, similar to the process in Mason City with the Mason City Chamber and North Iowa Corridor.

Burnett describes himself on his LinkedIn page as “A knowledgeable government professional with over 12 years of combined local government executive level and federal legislative experience. An International City/County Management Association Credentialed Manager and Master of Public Administration graduate whose blend of experience and education facilitates the effective exercise of governance at all levels. This effective leadership has produced progressive projects and policies which earned the Iowa City/County Management Association’s City Manager of the Year Award for 2017.”

He says he has been Keokuk City Administrator for 2 and a half years.  Keokuk is a Southeast Iowa community of just under 11,000.  Prior to that, he was City Administrator in Humboldt, Iowa between 2010 and 2015. His resume also lists jobs with Republican legislators Tom Latham and Jim Tussle. He is a University of Iowa graduate in 2005.

NIT will update this story after the city makes its official announcement later today.

PRESS RELEASE FROM CITY HALL LATER MONDAY AFTERNOON:

MASON CITY—Mason City has reached preliminary agreement with Aaron Burnett to become the city’s new city administrator, Mayor Bill Schickel said today.

Burnett is currently the city administrator in Keokuk, Iowa, where he has served since 2015. Prior to serving in Keokuk, Burnett was city administrator in Humboldt for five years.

He received the Iowa City/County Management Association (IACMA) Manager of the Year Award in 2017.  The award honors chief administrators whose accomplishments and superior work performance represent the best possible application of management principles.

He previously served as a legislative assistant to US Rep. Jim Nussle and as a legislative assistant and regional representative for US Rep. Tom Latham. While in those positions, Burnett helped the community of Mason City receive federal funding.

Burnett has a Masters degree in Public Administration with a concentration in local government from the University of Nebraska and a Bachelors of Arts degree with a political science major and business administration minor from the University of Iowa.

Born in Blue Grass, Iowa, he is married to Leah, who works as both a realtor and a stay-at-home mom for their three children.

Burnett’s nomination for the IACMA award said “Keokuk is starting to turn the tide… Young people, businesses and families are moving back or coming to the city for the first time and finding it to be a good fit for them. His attitude has inspired a greater community-wide effort to promote growth and investment.”

The nomination said Burnett “spearheaded a large effort to demolish vacant and dilapidated buildings while securing new development projects…and refinancing existing debt, saving more than one million dollars.”

Burnett is scheduled to be in Mason City on Thursday, April 12 to attend a special council meeting where his appointment will be voted on. The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Mason City Room of the public library.

 

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