Debbie Tarry selected as new Shoreline Assistant City Manager

From the Office of the City Manager
City Manager Julie Underwood has selected Debbie Tarry to be the City’s new Assistant City Manager.  

Tarry’s selection is the culmination of an extensive search for a new Assistant City Manager after Underwood, the former assistant city manager, was appointed by the City Council to be the City Manager in February.

Tarry is the current Director of the newly created Administrative Services Department in Shoreline. Prior to being named Director of Administrative Services, Tarry served as the Finance Director for the past eleven years.

“Debbie is a proven leader within our organization,” stated Underwood. “She exemplifies the community and organization’s values, and her ability to perform during critical times is unmatched. She has just the right complement of skills that work well with mine.”

“It is such an honor to be selected for the Assistant City Manager position,” said Tarry. “Shoreline is a great community, and our elected officials and City staff are committed to providing excellent service to the community. I am very excited to continue contributing to Shoreline’s success and serving the Shoreline community in this new capacity.”

Debbie Tarry

Throughout her tenure at Shoreline, Tarry has been intimately involved in most of the critical decisions the City has faced over the past eleven years. Before coming to Shoreline, Tarry worked as the Finance Director for the City of Mill Creek and the Administrative Services Director for LINK Transit. Tarry has extensive experience working with other jurisdictions in the region.

Tarry has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration from Pacific Lutheran University. She is a member of the Washington Cities Insurance Authority Loss Control and Investment Committee and the Seattle City Light Review Panel. She also is a Former President of the Washington Finance Officers Association. Tarry is a resident of Lake Stevens where she lives with her husband. She has two grown daughters.

The City received over 100 applications for the position. Of those, 16 were chosen to go through an initial phone interview. From the results of those interviews, the City Manager chose the six finalists. The six finalists were then interviewed by three panels made up of community members, City staff and the City’s Leadership Team.

“I want to thank the members of the community panel and the staff panels that helped interview the finalists for this position,” stated Underwood. “We had an exceptional slate of finalists. It speaks volumes about where the City is today that so many highly qualified professionals were interested in working for the City of Shoreline.”

Tarry will start as Assistant City Manager effective immediately. She will serve as Interim Administrative Services Director until a replacement is found.