With a hole to fill in the city’s administration, the Canby City Council took the first steps toward filling the city administrator’s position.

Former City Administrator Greg Ellis officially left the job March 3, taking a position in the governor’s office to work on community and economic development projects in three Oregon counties. Now, the city needs to figure out what course to chart in finding a replacement.

On Wednesday, they covered their bases by appointing Amanda Zeiber as interim city administrator. It’s not a position she’s unfamiliar with, having served as the interim city administrator for eight months nearly five years ago after Mark Adcock left.

“Amanda will be the interim as we look at the process we want to have,” said Canby Mayor Brian Hodson. “We will have to decide whether we want to look at candidates internally with Amanda stepping into that role permanently or looking at doing a public process, recruiting and interviewing.”

For her part, Zeiber has told the council she would be interested in the job permanently and received the endorsement of Ellis on his way out.

Zeiber also serves as the city’s human resources director. As a candidate for the job, should interviews be required of candidates, the city would have to look for outside help with the interview process. If she decides not to pursue it through an interview process, Zeiber would be able to conduct those as head of HR.

It’s yet another thing to be decided as the process moves forward, said Hodson.

“Amanda has recommended herself for the job and she did a very good job in that role previously,” Hodson said. “After the next city council meeting (March 19), we should have a much more defined plan to start working on.”

Ellis had originally planned to retire at the end of the year, which gave the council a clear timeline on when to get things done. His early departure has pushed those timelines up, said Hodson, but the council will make adjustments as necessary.

“We’re looking at a six to eight month process,” he said. “We’ve kind of had to move up our timeline, but we want to make sure we are thorough and find the right candidate that’s out there for Canby.”

And Hodson believes it’s a job worth taking.

“I think we’ve got some great leaders with our department heads and Canby is a great city to work for,” Hodson said. “I think this is a worthwhile community for someone who wants to come in and be part of it.”