HASTINGS, Neb. – Two years after being appointed to the position, Hastings City Administrator Shawn Metcalf has been relieved of his duties.

Monday was a tough day for the Hastings City Council, who was asked on whether or not to terminate their top non-elected city official.

"It's one of those things we never look forward to." said Mayor Corey Stutte.

A 6-1 vote from the city council on Monday proved the city felt it was time to move in a different direction.

Marc Rowan voted 'no.' Joy Huffaker was absent from the meeting.

"Obviously, we wish Shawn and his family the best as he moves on, but we're really looking forward to having Mark Funkey in place as Interim City Administrator," said Stutte. "He's been doing a great job these last couple of weeks, and he helped get the budget done for us."

Mark Funkey has been serving as the acting city administrator, and the council unanimously voted him to become the interim city administrator.

Funkey has stepped up by being responsible for presenting the city’s budget while Metcalf was on leave.

"I really appreciate that they had confidence in me," said Funkey. "I've been filling in this acting capacity for the last couple of weeks, and got us through a couple of pretty hard things, especially with the budget. I appreciate they think enough of the work I've done to fill the gap until we get to the next stage."

Funkey has only been in his assistant position since February. After Monday’s meeting, he credited Metcalf for showing him the ropes of the city government this year.

"Shawn and I got along really well, he did a great job of giving me the opportunity to get into a municipal government and to learn as quickly as possible." said Funkey.

Funkey said the two have not exchanged communications since Metcalf was placed on leave.

Mayor Corey Stutte says Funkey will serve in the interim until a new Mayor is elected at the end of the year, but believes Funkey is the right man for the job.

"Mark has great interpersonal communication skills, and works really well with department heads," said Stutte. "He really hit the ground running, he's been involved in budget discussions up until it was approved, and he's got a good rapport with everyone."

When asked if he would consider taking the full-time City Administrator job, Funkey says he’s considering it, but needs more time to decide.

"So far it's been pretty rough, there's been a lot of fast moving things to get done," said Funkey. "I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like if it slows down to a more normal pace, hopefully that will be the case so I can get a good judge of it."