The Sedona City Council voted 7-0 on Tuesday, Jan. 23, to approve the contract to hire Anette Spickard, of McCall, Idaho, as the new city manager.

A full story will appear in the Friday, Jan. 26, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.

The item was on council’s consent agenda and approved unanimously.

Spickard is currently the city manager of McCall, Idaho, population 2,991. Before she was hired by the city of McCall in 2018, she previously worked for the city of Springfield, Ore., as public works director and deputy director between 2013 and 2018. Spickard spent most of her career with Lane County, Ore., first as an accountant from 1993 to 2000, then as a budget analyst from 2002 to 2004 and then as deputy assessor and assessor from 2004 to 2013. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University in 1991 and her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington in 2016.

Carly Castle, city manager of Moab, Utah; Darren Coldwell, the city manager of Page; and Greg Caton city manager of Grand Junction, Colo., were the final four candidates in mid-December. Caton and Spickard were the two finalists, but Caton dropped his bid shortly thereafter.

Council agreed to offer the city manager position to Spickard on Jan. 9, following interviews with council, city staff and a group of residents on Jan. 8 and 9. Spickard accepted the offer of employment on Jan. 17, and contract terms were agreed to between both council and Spickard.

Spickard is scheduled to begin her employment with the city of Sedona on Monday, April 8. She will replace current City Manager Karen Osburn, who stated in the fall of 2023 that she was eligible to retire this spring.