Kenedy’s city council voted on November 7 to hire Walter Hill, Jr. as interim city administrator for the City of Kenedy.

Kenedy Mayor Randy Garza said he expected Hill would work for the city for the next three to six months.

Eleven people applied for the position and the group was narrowed to five by a panel appointed by the city council for the purpose of screening applicants for the position.

The city offered a permanent position as city administrator to one applicant they felt was the best qualified, but he declined to accept the job offer.

"The other ones were okay, but we figured that if we’re going to have an active panel we might as well go out and get the best that we can get," Mayor Randy Garza said. "We weren’t going to settle for anything else.

So it’s back to the drawing board.

Kenedy city officials plan to advertise for the position again and begin again the screening and interview process.

In the meantime, Hill will temporarily serve in the city’s top administrative position and will be paid a salary of $1,300 per week. Hill began work on November 8.

A former resident, Hill recently moved back to Kenedy. He is a graduate of the Kenedy High School class of 1941. After high school, Hill served in the military and after that obtained his degree in public administration from Iowa University.

He served as city administrator in Kenedy from 1970 to 1973. Since then he has worked as either city manager or city administrator at Sinton and Schertz and has worked as an interim city administrator in Rockport and Ingleside. He has extensive experience in administrative grant application duties as well as other top level administrative tasks.

Hill is a life member of the Texas City Managers Association and the International City Managers Association.

"I’ll be willing to help Kenedy as much as possible," Hill said. "It is my hometown now."