A new assistant to the city manager will soon be on the job in Salina.

According to the City of Salina, City Manager Mike Schrage has appointed Jacob Wood as the new Deputy City Manager. The search generated 60 candidates from across the country.

Wood has served as Assistant City Manager for the City of Hays since 2015. Prior to Hays, he was the City Administrator in Oakley.

A native of Bennington, Wood is returning to the City of Salina where he previously held positions as a City Management Intern and Interim Manager of the Bicentennial Center.

Along with his public administration experience, Wood has served for 15 years in the United States Army Reserve including deployments to both Afghanistan and Iraq. He currently holds the rank of Major and serves as the Detachment Commander for the 863rd Quartermaster Detachment in Great Bend.

Wood holds a bachelor’s degree in Social and Political Science, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Kansas State University.

City Manager Schrage said “we received a terrific number of applicants for the Deputy City Manager position which is certainly beneficial, but also makes selection of a finalist much more difficult.
Jacob’s past experience, skill sets and professional interests made him an outstanding fit for the Salina Deputy City Manager role going forward. Having worked directly with him for the two years that he was previously employed by the City was also very beneficial since it gave me firsthand knowledge of Jacob’s skills, style and fit for our organization. I am pleased that he was interested in returning to Salina and look forward to him taking on the Deputy City Manager role in our community.”

Wood succeeds Schrage in the Deputy City Manager role. The position has been vacant since June 2018 with Schrage serving as Interim City Manager before being promoted to City Manager in January 2019.

Wood will begin his new role at the end of April.