Mason City council appoints Brent Hinson as Deputy City Administrator and Finance Director

MASON CITY – The Mason City council this week appointed Brent Hinson as Deputy City Administrator and Finance Director after the sudden passing of Kevin Jacobson, who previously filled those roles.

Tuesday night at a special council meeting, City Administrator Aaron Burnett made the following remarks to the council before they approved the appointment of Brent Hinson as Deputy City Administrator/Finance Director:

With the unexpected passing of long-time Finance Director Kevin Jacobson last month, I have assessed the long-term needs of the City and created a new position of Deputy City Administrator/Finance Director to replace the Finance Director position.  The new position will retain all of the existing responsibilities of Finance Director, including managing the Finance function, IT, GIS and grant writing staff.  It also formalizes the role of this position as Acting City Administrator in my absence, and will permit me to assign this key manager to act on my behalf for a wide variety of boards, commissions, standing committees, departments and meetings.  The job description was evaluated by our external compensation consultant and was recommended to be classified as Grade U under our non-bargaining compensation plan.  This is the same pay grade level that earlier this year the Council approved Kevin Jacobson’s pay grade to be reclassified effective 7/1/21. The City began accepting applications for the vacancy on May 21st and commenced a statewide search for qualified candidates.  We received multiple applicants for the vacancy, and I reviewed each application.  From the list of candidates I interviewed Brent Hinson by phone and made the decision to offer him the position as the most qualified applicant. Mr. Hinson has served as City Administrator for the City of Washington, Iowa since 2011.  Prior to serving in Washington, Hinson was City Administrator in Garner, Iowa for six years.  He began his professional government sector career serving two years as Finance Director/City Clerk for Iowa Falls, Iowa.  For the past seven years he has operated a successful municipal consulting firm for Iowa cities, specializing in executive search, finance, compensation studies, and TIF analysis.  Hinson has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Drake University and a Bachelors of Arts degree with a political science major from the University of Northern Iowa.  He is a ICMA Credentialed Manager and has served on a number of state, regional and local boards.  Hinson’s familiarity with North Iowa, knowledge of the complex field of government finance, experience with the unique needs of municipalities, and his strong passion for public service has prepared him to assist me in leading Mason City through the challenges facing us today. Attached are the specifics of the job offer I have made.  Starting salary is at Grade U, Step 7 ($131,186 annually).  In addition I have included accelerated vacation and sick pay benefits, and a moving/relocation allowance.  If approved, Hinson will assume his new responsibilities on August 9, 2021. The wages for the position are allocated as part of the approved budget. Appointment and approval of appointment of Brent Hinson as Deputy City Administrator/Finance Director at the June 8, 2021 Special Council Meeting.

Administrator Burnett outlined the process, duties and the recommended candidate.