The Whitefish City Council on Dec. 22 announced that it has hired Adam Hammatt of Wisconsin as its new city manager to replace Chuck Stearns as the chief administrator.
“It is with great enthusiasm that I inform you that Mr. Adam M. Hammatt has accepted the City Manager position for the City of Whitefish,” Mayor John Muhlfeld said in a statement. “We had an excellent pool of candidates to choose from, and we are grateful and appreciative to all of the candidates who applied for this position.”
Hammatt has worked for the Village of Kimberly, Wisconsin as the village administrator for four years. He holds a juris doctor degree, master of public administration and a bachelor of arts degree in political science and is an ICMA Credentialed Manager. Before his tenure in Kimberly, Hammatt worked as the village administrator for the Village of Suamico and as the city administrator for the City of Elroy. Hammatt has also served as an EMT/safety officer for St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula and as a firefighter/paramedic for Great Falls Fire Rescue. A native of Montana, Hammatt has family in Great Falls and is eager to return.
The city interviewed a list of five finalists for the second time since Stearns announced he would retire in early January after eight years as Whitefish’s chief administrative officer.
In September, the council re-advertised the position after the top candidate declined the offer.
The other candidates in the latest round were: David Buckingham, the city manager in Morro Cay, California; Evelyn Racette, former town manager of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona; William Vajda, former city manager of Marquette, Michigan; and Matthew Vincent, chief executive officer for Butte-Silver Bow City-County in Montana.
Hammatt will begin work at the city on Feb. 21.