Finalists for Scott County administrator position announced
Davenport public works director Dee Bruemmer and Scott County director of facility and support services Dave Donovan are finalists for the Scott County administrator position.
The board interviewed Bruemmer and another unidentified candidate Thursday and released the two finalists’ names late in the afternoon. Donovan applied during an earlier search and was interviewed at that time.
The candidates are expected to meet with Scott County staff and the Board of Supervisors next week. Jim Hancock, chairman of the Scott County Board of Supervisors, said he didn’t know when an administrator would be named. Supervisor Larry Minard is scheduled to be on vacation and wants to be part of the discussion, Hancock said.
Bruemmer, 53, has worked with the city of Davenport since 1981, and served as public works director since 1992. She oversees a budget of $36 million and
320 employees. She received her masters degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University.
Donovan, 48, has been with Scott County since 1989 and has a bachelor’s degree in public administration. He served as director of building and grounds from 1994 and has been facility and support services director since 2001 when he was put in charge of additional divisions in the county. He managed the $29.7 million jail construction project and is also overseeing the renovation of the 1983 jail and the Tremont Avenue jail annex. He is also directing several other construction projects.
“I’ve got a very strong dedication to the county and its team culture here,” Donovan said. “I want to be a part of continuing that.
“The county has a tradition of looking within and I thought I could continue with the county for a few decades,” he said. “I think I bring a strong knowledge of the community and the Scott County policies.”
Bruemmer said she wasn’t a candidate for the position when the Board of Supervisors first searched for an administrator to replace Ray Wierson who is retiring at the end of the year. She hadn’t applied for a job in more than two decades when the position came open again after the first candidate backed out of the job.
“I thought maybe I missed an opportunity,” Bruemmer said. “I had every intention of retiring from the city of Davenport, and that may still happen.”
She sees the administrator position as an important one in the county and one where she can still learn.
“Ray has done a terrific job and would be a good person to follow,” Bruemmer said. “They have a whole host of different issues to deal with and I like to learn.”
Hancock was pleased that both finalists are local. They would each bring different skills to the position.
Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.