WILLMAR
— The
Willmar City Council
on Monday approved a 3% salary increase for City Administrator Leslie Valiant, retroactive to her anniversary date of July 19, 2023.
Her annual salary was $166,400 prior to the raise, bringing her to $171,392 now, according to Willmar Human Resources Director LuAnn Sietsema.
During a closed session on Oct. 23, 2023, the council evaluated Valiant on numerous aspects of her performance and overall expectations, according to Mayor Doug Reese. He provided a summary of the evaluation during the Nov. 20 council meeting.
“City Administrator Valiant communicates well with the City Council, gives direction to the city and is decisive in what she wants to be done,” Reese said when giving the summary. “City Administrator Valiant is making progress on getting City Council fully informed, engaged on issues, providing more avenues to address concerns from the public and City Council members and improving technology.”
He noted both he and the council are grateful for all that Valiant does, and thanked her on behalf of the city.
Valiant began her position as city administrator in Willmar in 2021 after serving as the Spicer city administrator since April of 2009. Prior to her time in Spicer, she worked as a finance technician for the city of St. Joseph and before that was a senior accounts clerk for Litchfield Public Utilities.
This is Valiant’s third salary increase based on performance as the city administrator. The council approved a salary increase after a six-month evaluation in February of 2022, and her salary was increased to $160,000 after her one-year evaluation in October of 2022, which was retroactive to June 1, 2022. Valiant, along with other city employees, also received a 4% cost-of-living increase Jan. 1, 2023, according to Sietsema.
