Ibisch rejects job in Tenn.

dodgecountyindependent.com-A week after Kasson City Administrator Tim Ibisch left Minnesota to interview for the city manager position in Loudon, Tenn., and was offered the position, pending successful negotiations, Ibisch said he is rejecting the job offer.   

The Dodge County Independent broke the story last week. Ibisch, at the time, said he would be addressing the Council during its July 24 meeting. In addition to being city administrator, Ibisch also serves as general manager of Kasson Public Utilities.  

As of Monday afternoon, it was unclear if Ibisch would take the position with Loudon or not.   

Ibisch briefed the council he said, but not during a public meeting.  

“Before the council meeting started on Wednesday, I discussed it with the Mayor and Council member Ferris,” Ibisch wrote in an email. “The Mayor and Council member Ferris make up the Personnel Committee for the city. Also, before the meeting started, Councilmember Eggler asked about it and I chatted with him. During the break between the regular and closed session I mentioned it to the other council members and we talked about it informally then.”  

The DCI was denied a recording of the closed session meeting.   

“In accordance with Minnesota Statutes 13D.03, the closed meeting recording will be made available to the public once the labor contracts are signed,” Ibisch wrote.   

Asked for clarification about what the Personnel Committee is, and if it's required to post its agendas, Ibisch wrote “The Personnel Committee is an ad hoc committee that meets irregularly to deal with personnel issues. There are no posting requirements.”  

When the DCI contacted multiple city council members, none claimed to be aware of Ibisch being a finalist for the position. The minutes from a Loudon meeting in January of this year showed Ibisch was considered as a finalist for the position.  

“Frankly, you had already contacted at least some of them, so it was not news to them,” Ibisch wrote.   

Asked why he didn’t discuss the topic during the public portion of the meeting, Ibisch wrote “My private affairs are not something I typically provide to the council.”  

“I simply let them know that I received a job offer and that they would know an answer as soon as I did,” Ibisch wrote.   

At the meeting, Loudon City Attorney Kris Frye said the beginning salary as part of the advertisement is more than what he is making in Kasson.  

“I’ll start with the beginning wage that was listed in the advertisement and go from there,” he said about the contract negotiations. “I know that the starting wage here is more than what he is currently earning where he’s at.”  

Ibsich, who was hired originally by Kasson in 2019, after a stint with a similar position for the city of Blue Earth, told the Loudon City Council during his interview “I enjoy the community I serve right now and you know November’s coming… so you never know I might not be enjoying [it] as much in four or five months but right now I’ve got a good team and I’ve got a good council.”  

“At the end of the day why do we take any job? We’re looking for growth opportunities, we’re looking to see different things, this is a beautiful part of the country,” Ibisch said.   

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.