Scottsbluff police chief takes over city manager duties

    It’s now official – Scottsbluff Police Chief Kevin Spencer is also the new Scottsbluff City Manager.

     The co-Interim city manager since February, Spencer was one of 2 finalists for the post and was offered the job by the city council earlier this month, but several paperwork hurdles had to be cleared first.

      Foremost among them, the Scottsbluff council had to pass an ordinance merging the jobs of  City Manager and Police Chief and set residency requirements for the combined post.

     The council Monday night waived the normal 3 readings of the ordinance and gave it final approval, then completed negotiations on his contract to make Spencer’s hiring as city manager official.

      The two portions of his job have him answering to 2 different bodies. His job as City Manager will be overseen by the council while his role as police chief will continue to be overseen by the Civil Service Commission.

     His new salary for the combined position is $140,000 a year with the contract also including a retirement plan; vehicle and phone reimbursement; and other expenses.

      Spencer has been serving as co-interim City Manager along with Finance Director Liz Loutzenhiser since Dustin Reif’s contract was terminated in February after his first annual evaluation.

      Spencer was police chief in Morrill for 11 years before joining the Scottsbluff department as a captain in 2011. He was named chief in May 2013.