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Rifle’s new city manager is longtime Colorado, Alaska administrator

Staff report
Scott Hahn
Provided

Rifle City Council has chosen Scott Hahn to be its next city manager, following a lengthy selection. He replaces former manager Jim Nichols, who split from the city under a separation agreement earlier this year.

Hahn is currently the borough manager for the town of Skagway in Alaska. Although he has been in Alaska on and off since 2002, he has a long history in Colorado.

He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado and his master’s degree from the University of Colorado, Denver. With a Colorado public service career spanning back to the mid 1980s, Hahn said he is anxious to get back to what he considers his home state.



“I like the western culture atmosphere in Rifle and am impressed with the city improvements made to date,” he said in a news release sent out by the city on Friday. “It reflects well on the leaders, staff, and citizen support as well as bodes promisingly for the future.”

In Colorado, Hahn previously worked as town administrator for Erie, and was town manager in Hayden and city administrator in Salida. Much of his family is in Salida, and he indicated he is familiar with the unique challenges of towns on the Western Slope.



A special meeting of Rifle City Council is scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday at for approval of Mr. Hahn’s employment contract. The minimum two-year contract carries an annual salary of $140,000. If everything moves forward as anticipated, he will start on July 23.

In March, the council finalized a severance deal with former manager Nichols, who left under a mutual separation agreement after just three months on the job. Nichols was paid three months’ compensation, or $36,000, based on his contract salary of $144,000.

Nichols had signed on for a two-and-a-half-year term with the city in November of last year following an extensive search to replace former manager Matt Sturgeon. Specific reasons for the city’s separation with Nichols were not made public.


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