Looking forward to what it called “an unprecedented period of both commercial and residential growth,” the city of Warrenton announced last week that its top job is getting an overhaul.The city’s board of aldermen voted April 17 to create the position of city administrator, an employee in charge of managing the day-to-day operations of city government. The administrator position will replace the current head job of director of operations/finance officer, and will have a broader scope of responsibilities.Terri Thorn, formerly the director of operations, was named city administrator effective immediately. She has worked as director of operations since 2006.“I am honored to have been selected by the board of aldermen and mayor to serve as city administrator, especially during such a crucial time in the city’s history,” Thorn said. “With all the impending growth and development on the horizon, I will continue to dedicate myself to sound fiscal management so that the city can leverage this growth to create the highest quality of life for the citizens.”Many of the duties described in the ordinance creating the city administrator position are similar to the previous director role, while others have been expanded.Some important changes include the power to hire, discharge or promote employees, as well as clearer authority to direct the action of city department heads.The administrator also must submit a bond to the city in the amount of $50,000, to “insure the city for the faithful and honest performance of the duties of the city administrator.”Mayor Eric Schleuter said the new position is needed to manage the large-scale projects the city is engaged in, but also that Thorn was already performing many of the functions that were added to her job description.“She was already doing a lot of the duties without the title,” Schleuter said. “It’s well deserved for what she’s been doing for the past several years.”The city currently has over $60 million invested in improvements to the sewer treatment system, the highway overpass and surrounding commercial development, and the new pool project, Schleuter explained in a public statement. That’s combined with a $28 million capital budget, which all has to be managed by the city administrator.Thorn has proven she can handle the complexity of those tasks, Schleuter said.The board of aldermen approved a $135,000 salary for Thorn in her new position.Schleuter said that pay was based on a comparison of cities of a similar size to Warrenton that have city administrator positions, as well as some larger cities for comparison as Warrenton continues to grow.Warrenton city hall sign