OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – For the second time in eight months, Andrea Smith is officially Ogdensburg’s interim city manager.
“There’s a lot of work to be done right now and hopefully, being here in this position and having served in this capacity not all that long ago hopefully, we can keep things moving without losing too much ground in the near term,” she said.
Smith held the position once before from November 2022 until February 2023.
Her second stint comes more of a surprise as City Manager Mohideen Buharie’s resignation became official Wednesday night at a special session of city council.
“The city of Ogdensburg is very fortunate to have someone like Andrea Smith on staff who has again stepped in, as a number of times before, and lead our city through a difficult time,” said Mayor Mike Skelly.
Smith says she is ready to hit the ground running again and take on the biggest priorities that are facing Ogdensburg.
“Certainly one of the biggest challenges for the city right now is working through our 2024 budget,” she said.
She says meetings have already begun with department heads, getting a head start on this year’s process. Smith is also hopeful that her return to the position can open up communication within the council.
“I’m hoping that we can find some common ground obviously. We all at the end of the day want the city to be in a better position,” she said.
When asked if she would like to drop the “interim” title, Smith said, “It’s not off the table entirely but I think it’s important to hear from the community on where they stand on that. The city manager is obviously a very important role in the city.
Smith currently lives outside of the city limits, meaning changes would need to be made to its residency policy if Smith were to take on the role permanently.
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