COLUMBIA, MO (February 25, 2011) -

City Manager Bill Watkins has named Paula Hertwig Hopkins as acting city manager, effective today and ending when he retires March 11.

“Paula is not seeking the city manager’s position and has agreed to serve. I have full faith and trust in her.”               

Watkins will continue to fulfill his obligations through March 11. Hertwig Hopkins will work in tandem with him and have decision-making authority if he is absent during this period. After his departure, City Council members will name an interim city manager, to serve until a permanent successor is chosen.

Hertwig Hopkins joined the city as an assistant city manager in March 2000. She served in a similar capacity for Osage Beach before assuming the Columbia position.  Her education includes a bachelor’s degree in political science and urban studies from DePaul University (1975); graduation from the Police Training Institute (1979); and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri (1991).

Hertwig Hopkins is a member of the Board of the Missouri City Management Association, the Missouri Municipal League and the International City Management Association. She is an adjunct professor in organizational issues in the William Woods evening Master of Business Administration program.

Hertwig Hopkins’ annual salary will remain at its current level during the “acting” designation.