CHAFFEE -- The city of Chaffee has made an investment in the future by hiring, for the first time, a full-time city administrator.

Former city councilman Ron Eskew was hired away from Southeast Missouri State University and took the reigns of city administration Aug. 1.

Chaffee City Councilman Jerry Wolsey said the appointment will pay off down the road.

"I feel like we've made a good investment, a long-term investment," Wolsey said. "He'll be a major asset to the city."

Eskew took over the daily supervision of all 21 of Chaffee's full-time employees, plus overseeing and purchasing for public works, police, fire, parks and water departments and city library. He will also be responsible for promoting city growth.

"He's going to market the community," Wolsey said.

Eskew, who has a master of science degree in administration from Southeast, said the City Council decided the workload of a growing municipality, coupled with the ever increasing complexities of the individual departments, was becoming too much for the council to handle every other week.

"They had a part time administrator who retired about three or four years ago and they tried to fill the position with committees and councilmen," he said. "Things got behind and the council decided they needed someone here full time."

Since the retirement of Reece Brown in 1993, Wolsey said, Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Cunningham and Mayor Bill Cannon have been the ones spending the most time working at City Hall trying to fill the void.

"Tom did a tremendous job," Wolsey said. "But the workload was just too much, especially when you're talking about basically volunteer work."

Eskew, his wife Janae and two sons Chase and Rynn, have lived in Chaffee since 1986. He said the city council did extensive research before deciding to hire full-time city administrator.

"This council is always looking ahead," he said. "They're looking five, 10, 15 years into the future and seeing where they want to be, not where we've been."