STURGIS, S.D. – The Sturgis City Council Tuesday night approved a resolution to recruit for the hiring of a city manager.

The move follows the recent announcement by current City Manager Daniel Ainslie that he has taken a job with the city of Rapid City.

The council discussed the process concerning the two executive officer positions. The two positions are a city manager or a city administrator.

There are some differences between the two positions, and City Attorney Mark Marshal says current city ordinances contemplate the employment of a city manager. He says revisions would be necessary to city ordinances to allow the city council to hire a city administrator.

After discussion and input, the council asked Attorney Marshal to come up with a resolution to recruit for the hiring of a new city manager. Several council members said they felt hiring a city administrator would be a step backward.

Sturgis residents overwhelmingly adopted a city manager form of government in 2007 during a city election. A city manager must answer to all members of a city council, which includes the mayor. A city administrator is appointed and answers to the mayor alone. Sturgis Council President Kevin Forrester.

The resolution passed 8 to 1 with Tony Dargatz voting no.

Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen.

In the interim, the council appointed an interim management team in Ainslie’s absence.

The committee will be comprised of individuals from throughout the community, and will be appointed for its candidate selection process which is expected to take a minimum of six months.