By Sara QuamThe Luverne City Council approved advertising the job description and community information to recruit a new city administrator Tuesday.City Administrator Search Committee members reported to the Council.Search Committee member Dave Smith said, "We’re trying to tap into as many avenues as we can."He said networking within state Chamber of Commerce groups and League of Minnesota Cities connections might draw a happily employed person to Luverne.Committee member Connie Connell also made contacts through the Blandin Foundation and Southwest Minnesota Foundation.Committee member Steve Perkins said drawing a currently employed person who is looking for a change is preferred, as opposed to hiring to someone who lost a job or left a job under difficult circumstances.He said offering a bigger salary might also draw a qualified, highly successful candidate.For that reason, the Committee recommended a salary of $80,000 to $120,000 depending on qualifications and experience. Perkins said managing many city departments requires more from Luverne’s administrator than in some other cities. He also said the salary is comparable with school superintendents.Connell said, "We’re open to discussion on the salary and we talked a lot about that. … But we are really committed to finding a highly-qualified person."She said cities of comparable size who operate their own electric and water utilities often have numerous boards or managers, whereas Luverne just has one.Perkins said, "We need to look at the position differently. In Luverne it is really a unique position. The charter places a great deal of responsibilities and duties on the administrator."Perkins said drawing a private-sector employee is an option as well as people with government experience.City staff, City Council members and a special community meeting all outlined ideal qualities of a city administrator. Perkins said, "There is no disharmony in those priorities laid out by those groups. We have to realize that recruitment can be difficult, however, when the last three city administrators left under difficult circumstances. People may have questions about Luverne."He said looking forward from now on is most important."At this point," Perkins said, "we need to fill the position and find somebody really good."Personality and intelligence testing as well as in-depth background checks will be a part of this search.Perkins said, "The packet [information for the job] has pages of issues that the city administrator has to tackle — it’s a big job."Timeline for administrator:Aug. 12: Deadline for applicationAug. 19-25: Semifinalist reference and background checks and testing Aug. 30: Presentation of candidates and selection of finalists Sept. 9-10: City tour, reception and interviews of finalistsSept. 12-16: Post-interview follow-ups, community visit, final selectionOct. 1-15: Administrator start date