The Centralia Mayor and City Council have announced that they have made a conditional offer of employment to its City Attorney Kory Smith to be the next city manager.
Mayor Bryan Kuder says the offer is contingent on council approval of an employment agreement which will be considered at the next Centralia City Council meeting on April 11th.
Smith was born and raised in Centralia and is the son of Bob and Karen Smith. Kory’s wife, Kelsie, is an owner of a local business, KloTHeer Boutique, and a local Real Estate Agent at Coldwell Banker Real Estate. The Smiths have one son.
Kuder says they are thrilled to continue to work with Smith in a larger capacity. The Mayor says Smith has a vested interest in seeing the community grow, has a great understanding of the operations of the City of Centralia, and will be vital to the continued growth and will help make Centralia a better place to work and live. Based on his education and municipal law experience, Kuder feels Smith will be a great asset to the city.
Smith has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Illinois University where he majored in Sociology and Criminology. He obtained his Master in Public Administration from Murray State University and then later his law degree from Southern Illinois School of Law. Upon graduation, he worked for Crain, Miller, and Wernsman before being hired by the Marion County State’s Attorney’s office. Most recently, Kory has been practicing law as an associate with the firm Black, Ballard, McDonald P.C. where he has practiced civil and municipal law and serves as the city attorney for Centralia.
