The City Council unanimously approved an employment agreement for Stan McNutt to serve as the interim deputy city manager Monday.

McNutt worked with Interim City Manager Lee Walton in building the new government of Spokane Valley.

“We have a number of transitional issues, and I expressed that I needed some temporary help to get some of these things done,” Walton said.

The contract for McNutt states he will be assigned to the city as an employee of Prothman Company. The city will pay Prothman $81 an hour for McNutt’s services. No additional budget appropriation will be needed for McNutt’s hiring because of the savings created when Mark Dombroski left his position.

The contract states McNutt will receive an additional $800 each month for a housing stipend, and Prothman will collect a 10 percent finder fee should McNutt become a “regular employee.”

Councilor Barry Peters added a provision to the motion that the budgetary authority for McNutt’s contract expires on Jan. 31, which gives the new council the power to either renew McNutt’s contract or terminate it. But Walton estimated McNutt won’t need much time beyond that January deadline.

“He’s done a number of these things,” Walton said. “I don’t think it would stretch for more than a few months, maybe into January or February.”

McNutt has served as the interim city manager during a change of government in Sequim, Port Townsend and Battle Ground, among other cities in the Northwest. McNutt has also been running seminars to train both elected officials and recently appointed staff since he formally retired in 1988.