Martig may be leaving Blue Earth

Sarah Day — Staff Writer
BLUE EARTH — Ben Martig, Blue Earth’s city administrator, was unanimously chosen for the same job in Marshall by the City Council and two committees this week.

Martig told Marshall he would need a day or two to decide whether to accept.

Marshall Mayor Robert Byrnes hopes that at the next council meeting on Monday, the city and Martig can sign the job agreement.

The position was vacated in January and opened for applications in March.

Byrnes said 30 applications were received. From there, Marshall narrowed the field to 9. The council selected six finalists.

Aside from the council, a community leader panel and the senior management team were in on the interview process.

“Ben was the unanimous choice from all three interview teams,” Byrnes said. “The City Council makes the decision, obviously, but they provided their input for our consideration.”

He said the council was looking for a number of things in their ideal candidate: knowledge of duties, ability to work with the council, policy establishment, being able to work with staff.

“We really feel Ben has all of those,” he said. “He’s a very talented individual and a good communicator. In addition to that, we are a community that has a lot of activity. We’re looking for someone who has that energy level to be a part of a really vibrant and exciting community.”

Byrnes said Martig received a copy of the employment agreement Thursday. It outlines the job description and expectations, as well as salary and benefits.

Martig is being offered about $86,000. He earns about $60,000 in Blue Earth.

If Martig declines the position, Byrnes said, Marshall does not have a backup plan.

“We do not have a clear second choice because we were unanimous,” he said. “If by chance, he does not choose to come to the city of Marshall, we will have to meet as a City Council and decide if we want to extend the opening or look at any other candidates — but we don’t want to go there.”

Blue Earth Mayor Rob Hammond said that if Martig accepts the position he would have to give a 30-day notice. He said it would take two to three months to fill the position.

When city administrators have left in the past, Hammond has helped out, and the city has contracted with retired city administrators. The city also has hired consultants to help with things such as bonding issues and economic development.

At their last meeting, council members had a lively discussion about Martig being overloaded and needing an assistant. Martig did not raise the issue; council members did.

Hammond said Martig did not know he was selected as a finalist in Marshall until after the meeting.

“Well, the timing couldn’t have been worse,” Hammond said. “’Cause it looks like it had an affect on Ben’s decision, but it didn’t. The calls from Marshall came after the meeting. Sometimes things fall into place in the wrong way.”

Though the timing was poor, Hammond is supportive of Martig.

“I think the best way to put it is Ben Martig has been very honest with the city and me,” he said. “He hasn’t taken advantage of us and he’s not taking advantage of us in this situation.”

He added that Martig has bent over backward to help Hammond look at the situation and prepare for the future.

“He’s got a lot of work to do as far as tying up loose ends,” Hammond said. “I’ve got all the faith in the world that he’ll be able to do so. It’s been fun working with Ben and seeing him grow.”

Martig did not respond to messages requesting comment Wednesday or Thursday.