Centralia’s City Attorney William Korey Smith is expected to be approved as Centralia’s new City Manager at Monday’s City Council meeting.
Smith says in addition to a law degree he has a Master’s in Public Administration.
“I’ve always had my goals set on some type of municipality work. This position came out of the blue. I never threw my hat in the ring. Pretty humbling to be asked to see if I was a good fit. I was practicing in the private arena for quite awhile. I thought I’d do this for the city of Centralia and the people that live there. I wanted to eliminate my personal goals and see if I could give back to the community that gave me my wife, and child and so much.”
Smith says while he’s never been a city manager he has seen the operation of the city from his current position.
“Been allowed to help in that fashion with all sorts of issues that were brought before the city so I have a baseline understanding of how it works. I’m not sitting here and telling you that I’m all knowledgeable, it’s going to be a work in progress and I have full faith I’ll be able to accomplish the jobs. The city has some great department heads and employees so I’m really excited to work with all of them.”
Smith says once he’s officially hired as city manager, he will sit down with the Mayor and City Council to determine goals.
