Russ Martin will be the next town manager of Camp Verde, having accepted the job offer last week.
Martin, the manager of Hayden, Colo., a small town of about 2,000 residents, submitted his letter of resignation from that job Friday, July 9.
“I am excited for the opportunities that are there and look forward to working closely with the community of Camp Verde, its mayor, council and staff,” Hayden wrote. “Again my wife, Ann, and two kids are very appreciative of all Hayden has given us and we are looking forward to what Camp Verde will bring.”
In his application for the job, Hayden wrote he had experience from work in Colorado that would be beneficial in Camp Verde, noting a recent code revision he oversaw, one similar to what Camp Verde is going through now.
“My attraction to Camp Verde is very similar to why we moved to Hayden, a community that prides itself in its history and rural values,” Martin wrote. “While being so close to a tourist destination, that brings its benefits as well as its unique issues.”
Martin has served as town manager in Hayden since March 2004. While there, in addition to overseeing the code revision, he saw the town through two critical tax issues and helped deal with what he described as difficult human resources issues.
Prior to working in Hayden, Martin worked as a planner in Miniturn, Colo., and as a regional planner in Richfield, Utah.
Martin holds a bachelor’s degree in city and regional planning from New Mexico State University and a master’s degree in human resource management from Utah State University.
The Camp Verde Town Council wanted a town manager to live in the community, giving the candidate a “reasonable amount of time” to become a resident.
Martin was actually the council’s second choice. The council initially offered the job to Kelly Udall, the town manager of Pinetop-Lakeside, but Udall declined the offer after talking with his family.
Still, Martin was one of three finalists Mayor Bob Burnside said were all well-qualified.
“Russ Martin was always my first choice,” said Councilwoman Carol German, who served on the committee which recommended the finalists to council.
Councilwoman Robin Whatley said she didn’t want to be locked into choosing from the two remaining finalists, who were picked from a pool of nearly 90 initial applicants. The council paid the League of Arizona Cities and Towns to lead the search process. Interim Town Manager Dave Smith said if the council didn’t pick Martin or other finalist Lawrence Dobrosky, the council would have to start the entire process over again from scratch.
Council unanimously voted to offer Martin the job. He starts Monday, Aug. 9, two days after his resignation in Hayden takes effect. While details of any salary offers were not available, the previous manager made more than $100,000 a year.
Michael Scannell resigned earlier this year to take a job in Chino Valley.
