Following the announcement that Landrum City Administrator Caitlin Cothran will be exiting her position after August 9, the application process to replace her has begun. Cothran has been the city’s administrator since April 2013.

Prospective applicants can pick up an application either at Landrum City Hall at 100 N. Shamrock Ave. or by going online and downloading the application off the city’s website at  cityoflandrumsc.com/landrum-looking-for-new-administrator/. Submissions to Mayor Robert Briggs and city council members will be examined starting in August.

Cothran said she began telling city council members and Briggs individually about her new position in Columbia, S.C. last month before it began to go public in the last few weeks. She will head a department responsible for business license fees in the South Carolina Municipal Association beginning August 15.

“I love Landrum, because they are wonderful and they’ve been inviting and have been fantastic to me,” Cothran said about her departure. “I’m very sad for leaving, especially with such great people here.”

According to Cothran, the application process will extend through Landrum’s regular city council meeting on August 9.

The job description for city administrator calls upon someone who is “politically astute with an open management style that is collaborative, date-driven and team-oriented. A strong leader who embraces diversity, transparency and accountability is a must.”

Briggs released a statement on July 18 on behalf of himself and Landrum City Council members wishing Cothran well in her upcoming career change.

“Sometimes opportunities come along and you have to seize them when they occur,” Briggs said in the statement. “Such is the case for Caitlin. We are saddened because we will miss her and the dedication and commitment she has shown to our community.”

The mayor said this would be the town’s fifth city administrator, adding the application process has not changed much in the process of hiring each individual.

“We advertise for applicants, review those applicants, narrow the field, interview a short list and make a selection,” Briggs said. “If we don’t see anyone we think would be a good fit, we keep looking.”

The position will remain open until filled, according to Cothran. City council members will look through the applications already submitted at next month’s meeting and will then begin making phone calls for interviews if they like any of the candidates.