MOLINE, Illinois - During a April 2nd meeting, The Moline City Council unanimously voted in favor of Lisa Kotter filling the city administrator role.
Lisa Kotter, who is currently serving as city administrator in Geneseo, has about 25 years experience as a city administrator.
She is set to begin the role in Moline on April 29, filling the position that has been vacant since Doug Maxeiner left back in January 2019.
Kotter will now lead the search for a new police chief in Moline, following the resignation of Chief John Hitchcock last year.
She will also be in charge of finding a new Economic Development and Planning Director, following the departure of Ray Forsythe.
Kotter tells News 8 she is eager to get to work developing parts of Moline that show fresh potential.
"Obviously, the I-74 bridge is a big priority to the elected officials," said Kotter. "To determine the footprint of the bridge once (the construction is) gone in a few years, what we're going to do downtown."
Kotter said her experience in economic development was a big focus point of discussions with Mayor Stephanie Acri and Moline city leaders during her interview process.
Kotter also said she is excited to get to know her new team.
She acknowledged that moving from the role in Geneseo to the role in Moline will be a learning curve, because Moline is a bigger city.
However, she said she is excited to make the move and begin leading larger teams.
“While we all have part-time elected officials who set policies, it's helpful to have someone in a city administrator position be professionally trained," Kotter said while talking about fiscal responsibility and transparency. "Just to be a really good tool for our department heads and managers who are there on a daily basis helping to provide services to the public.”
Kotter made headlines in April 2018 after concerned citizens moved to have her removed from office in Geneseo.
A petition surfaced accusing Kotter of misusing city funds.
The petition allegedly gained hundreds of signatures but was never turned in, and the mayor and city council of Geneseo stood behind Kotter during that time.
Kotter was open and transparent about that time when asked about it during an interview with News 8 on April 2, 2019.
"Its an unpopular position sometimes, but I think what I assured the elected officials in Moline is that, even when decisions are unpopular, I will make them, and I will make them consistently, and that’s what you have me there for," said Kotter.
Kotter is a native of Milwaukee and has a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration, both from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
She will move to Moline in the next 6-months and said she is excited to make the move.
"Anything that we can do to be a high performing team, that I can help facilitate as a leader in the community is really important to me," she said.
