If a background check this week doesn’t turn up any issues, Lee Elliott of Texarkana, Texas will become Yachats’ interim city manager on Thursday, March 18.
The Yachats City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to sign an employment contract with Elliott after an employment consultant does a standard background check on his credit and criminal history.
The council agreed to pay Elliott $7,000 a month, with a medical insurance stipend of $250 a month, a housing allowance of $250 a month, and $668 in relocation costs. If Elliott is eligible to become a member of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System – he was a PERS member from 2012-14 when he worked in Newberg – then Yachats will also contribute to that retirement account.
Elliott is replacing on a temporary basis city manager Shannon Beaucaire, who is leaving to become city manager in Carlton. Beaucaire’s last official day is April 3, but she is using vacation and paid time off much of the rest of March.
Mayor Leslie Vaaler said Beaucaire would be in City Hall next Thursday and Friday to help with Elliott’s transition and also be available later by phone.
Elliott has spent the last six years working in interim municipal government roles in Texas, Arkansas, Arizona and Oregon. Elliott ended a seven-month job in February as interim public works director in the Texas-Mexico border town of Del Rio.
The council had advertised for someone to be interim city manager for 4-6 months while it searches for a permanent manager. In his interview with the council last week, Elliott said after years of moving around it was time to settle down and that he would be interested in the permanent position.
