As we reported earlier this week, the City of Perry’s Administrative Assistant has been officially promoted to Assistant City Administrator.

It’s the next step in a process, started last year by staff and the City Council, to have Sven Peterson prepared to take over when current City Administrator Butch Niebuhr retires.

Niebuhr has since announced his plans to vacate the position at the end of the current fiscal year, which would mean Peterson would tentatively take over on July first, pending approval by the City Council. Though Niebuhr says Perry will be in good hands.

“The (City) Council is lucky to be able to hire somebody with his expertise and his training and also now in the master’s (degree) program at Drake (University).  A Perry boy that really has a lot of interest in making sure our community thrives.”

Niebuhr says City Hall has a strong nucleus of people, from City Clerk Corey Eastman to Finance Officer Susie Moorhead and all department heads.  He says everyone is doing a good job to come together with this process and embracing Peterson in his new roles.