Aspen City Manager Sara Ott is a finalist for the city manager's position in Louisville, Colorado.
Ott is one of four finalists, a Louisville city spokesperson confirmed. Ott released a statement to the Aspen Daily News just before 1 p.m.
"I have been named a finalist for the position of city manager in Louisville, Colorado," the prepared statement says. "This is an exciting opportunity to continue building my career in public service and to bring my experience and passion for community engagement to a new setting.
"I appreciate the Louisville City Council's thoughtful approach to this hiring process," Ott's statement continues. "I look forward to the opportunity to share my experience and qualifications with the elected body, staff and the Louisville community. This will aid both me and the Louisville Council in determining if we are a match. There are many more steps to this process."
Ott also said she remains "focused on the work at hand and committed to supporting Aspen."
"We have big things happening in our community that need to move forward everyday. It is a privilege to serve this remarkable community and to work alongside such dedicated colleagues," the statement concludes.
The Front Range city began a national search for a new city manager in August. It released a list of finalists, including Ott, today. Recruitment for the position opened in October and the city began reviewing applications in the fall, according to the city of Louisville’s website.
Finalists will be invited to Louisville the week of Jan. 20 for interviews, including a public meet-and-greet session with residents and city staff. The Louisville City Council will meet on Monday, Jan. 27, to discuss the four finalists and select a candidate, according to a city of Louisville news release.
The Aspen City Council promoted Ott from assistant city manager to city manager in September 2019. She agreed then to a base salary of $203,000, the Aspen Daily News previously reported.
As city manager, Ott serves as the chief administrative officer of the Aspen government. The city council has final hiring authority for the city manager's position.
At the end of 2023, the city council approved a 4% salary increase for Ott, to $267,824, after an annual council evaluation of her job performance. Over the past few months, the city council has held several executive sessions to discuss her latest review, one as recently as Tuesday.
Aspen Mayor Torre said he was informed Tuesday that Ott was a finalist for the Louisville job. He also said the city council has made an offer to retain her.
“I’m super supportive of everybody that we have working at the city, and I hope the best for them and in their career path,” Torre said. “We’ll see what happens with the interviews in Louisville. Sara’s been a great servant with the city of Aspen, and we have made an offer to retain her, so we’ll just see how it works out," Torre said.
All four Louisville city manager finalists currently work as city or county managers in Colorado. Besides Ott, the finalists are: Jay Harrington, county manager of Routt County, Colorado; Diana Langley, city manager of Yuba City, California; and Jason Rogers, city manager of Commerce City, Colorado.
The salary range for the Louisville position is $232,459.22 to $330,186.98, according to the job posting on the Colorado City and County Management Association website. It has a population of about 20,000 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
