Robert Sivick is the new county administrator in Whitfield County, Georgia. / Contributed photoRobert Sivick has been named Whitfield County, Georgia's new county administrator.
The board of commissioners voted unanimously Monday to offer Sivick a two-year contract with an annual salary of $145,000. Sivick is expected to start work Friday.
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Commission Chairman Jevin Jensen said Sivick's "diverse background" and "vast experience" as a former city manager, city attorney, county administrator, private attorney and elected official made him stand out from the crowd of other candidates. In total, 11 candidates were interviewed before Sivick was chosen.
"It's a combination of that plus full 360-degree level of experience that really helped us make our decision," Jensen said. "We also had very good references from his supervisors, peers and people that worked for him who confirmed he was a good manager, a very good leader, and that was key in our decision as well."
Sivick earned his law degree from Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Neb., and a bachelor of arts in history from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnston, Pennsylvania. For four years he has been county administrator in Waushara County, Wisconsin.
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His earlier experience includes city and county roles in human resources, as a city attorney and a county manager. He practiced private law in Omaha from 1988 to 2007.
Sivick replaces Mark Gibson, who accepted the position of chief operations officer for Whitfield County Schools in July. County engineer Kent Benson has been serving as interim administrator while continuing his job as county engineer.
Benson did not apply for the administrator position.
Contact Kelcey Caulder at kcaulder@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @kelceycaulder.