Bemidji City Council approved a motion to begin advertising for a city engineer to replace Brian Freeburg who will retire in January 2008.
The city currently has funds budgeted to hire an engineer six months before Freeburg's retirement.
The overlap is necessary for acclimatization, City Manager John Chattin noted in his recommendation to the council.
However, given the high volume of projects in 2007 bringing a new engineer on staff as soon as possible would be advantageous, Chattin said in his recommendation.
With the council's approval, a new engineer could be hired as soon as April, according to Chattin's projections.
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Councilor Roger Hellquist agreed that advertising should begin as soon as possible.
"I'm astounded at the shortage of civil engineers across the country," Hellquist said. "I think that will be an interesting aspect when the time comes to replace Brian."
Hellquist also noted discussions within the Public Works Committee on the possibility of future organizational changes.
One possibility would be to combine the City Engineer and Public Works Director positions.
