City admin selected for Prairie City

Prairie City has selected its new city administrator. John Lloyd was picked from a pool of four finalist during a special meeting Nov. 25.

Lloyd comes to Prairie City from the Tama-Toledo area where he currently serves as the Toledo mayor and Tama Public Works Director. He will take over for acting city administrator and police chief Joe Bartello.

“I had been in administration before and what I do now with the City of Tama and public works is similar, I still have all of the departments I just don’t have administration employees,” Lloyd said. “So it is really moving back into administration. That is the opportunity that I am looking at.”

According to the Tama News-Herald, Lloyd started his career in city government in Gilbert as the city clerk and city administrator. While in those positions he also obtained his Iowa Department of Natural Resources water certification.

From there, he worked as the city manager for Cresco before being hired in Tama. Lloyd is a Newton native and 1987 graduate of Newton High School.

Moving back into city government, Lloyd said he is excited to be back in the area, having grown up just down the interstate.

“I know the area, I grew up in Newton and graduated from there,” Lloyd said. “It is getting to meet and getting to know new people. Getting back to city administration but staying in Iowa and having the connection.”

The process to selected a city administrator has many steps but Lloyd said they are each important to both the candidate and the city.

“You want to make sure that it is a good fit for you as well as a good fit for the city. You are going to be there for a while and you want to make sure you feel comfortable with the answers you are getting,” Lloyd said. “You don’t want to be in a place for a number of years and only have 30 minutes to make that decision. You do spend a lot of time and energy into the process but it really pays off itself. You don’t want to get into it and 30 days later think, oh, this isn’t for me.”

Although his first day on the job isn't until Dec. 30, he has already started looking at the potential for Prairie City.
"I think housing and economic development were big selling points. The real potential for growth is there which is fantastic but also maintaining the small town, I think is what is going to be fun to try to work at it," Lloyd said. "With residential growth comes the other services, small businesses, hopefully filling up the square and filling up spots around Prairie City that need to be filled."

Lloyd said he would like to eventually live in Prairie City. His starting pay rate is $75,000 and the city has agreed to maintain his waste water and DNR water license and EMT license and certification.

“We’re excited that this search ended with two excellent candidates and we’re happy with the selection of John and excited for him to start his new career in Prairie City,” mayor Chad Alleger said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com