With the upcoming retirement of Judy Keller announced at the Maumelle City Council meeting on Monday, the city took steps on Wednesday to hire her replacement.

A job opening for "Chief of Community & Economic Development" was posted here online on Wednesday morning and the annual salary scale runs from $53,702.00 to $61,575.46.

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Keller was titled Director of Economic Development in a one-person office but at Monday's Council meeting, the department was merged into the mayor's office, as Chad Gardner wrote about here in his City Council report.

Keller will stay on with the city until the end of September, and the "merger of these two departments ... and will take effect Oct. 1," Gardner wrote.

The opening is described as, "responsible for facilitating the planned, orderly growth of the City of Maumelle by developing and implementing programs to attract new business to the city, support existing businesses, as well as facilitating and promoting community quality of life."

Qualifications include a bachelor's degree or five years of related experience and while not required, the job posting said, "it is beneficial to have attended Community Development Institute and an Economic Development Institute and to have taken the test and be certified as a Community Developer and an Economic Developer."

The opening's closing date is listed as Aug. 5.