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Basalt reaches agreement for Ryan Mahoney to become town manager

Ryan Mahoney

After a few weeks of negotiations, the Basalt Town Council finally got its man.

The town government announced Wednesday it reached a verbal agreement with Ryan Mahoney for him to become the next town manager. It is anticipated he will sign the written contract this week and take over the post the third week of June, but details are being work out, the town said in a statement.

When asked why Mahoney was selected, Mayor Jacque Whitsitt said, “He’s young, energetic, very thoughtful, he had done his homework.”



“His background is in land use planning,” Whitsitt continued. “If there’s anything government does, it’s land use planning.”

Details of the contract weren’t released, such as salary and how negotiations over housing issues were resolved. The contract will become public once it is signed, Whitsitt said.




The pay range was advertised between $124,000 and $170,000. “He’s in the middle,” Whitsitt said.

Councilman Bernie Grauer said Wednesday that Mahoney will be given an option of using a town-owned townhouse in Basalt or an allowance. They have roughly equal value, he said, in the ballpark of $2,000 per month. Councilman Mark Kittle said Tuesday he supported providing $2,000 per month as a housing allowance, the same as former manager Mike Scanlon received.

Mahoney is moving to Basalt with his wife and two young sons. He will start with a two-year contract, Grauer said.

Mahoney, 41, is currently the development services director for the town of Marana, Arizona. He leads a 20-person team that includes the planning, building and development engineering branches, according to his resume. He joined the town of Marana as planning director in 2013 and was promoted last year, his resume showed.

Elsewhere in his professional life, Mahoney served as town manager in Buena Vista and Dolores, Colorado. He has also consulted in the state.

Mahoney was a finalist in fall 2012 when Basalt hired Scanlon as manager. This time around, he was the council’s top choice out of a field of 58 applicants, Whitsitt said. The field was narrowed to two on April 21, but the other finalist dropped out April 25. Mahoney and the town negotiated terms of the contract since April 28.

scondon@aspentimes.com