March 2, 2023 3:20 a.m.

The City of Roseburg welcomed new City Recorder Patty Hitt on Wednesday.

A City release said Hitt will replace Amy Sowa, who will retire from her position as assistant city manager/city recorder on March 31st. Until then, Sowa will continue in her position and train Hitt to take on the new role.

City Manager Nikki Messenger said, “We are excited to welcome Patty to the team. Her years of experience will help us continue to move the organization forward”. Messenger said, “We are going to miss Amy Sowa, who has done an excellent job”.

From 2012 to 2019, Hitt served as the Douglas County Clerk, supervising the Recording, Elections, Archives and Vital Records divisions. Hitt also served as the board clerk for the Board of Property Tax Appeals and maintained the permanent record for all Douglas County Commissioners’ official proceedings.

Hitt served as the county’s chief deputy clerk/director of elections from 2007 to 2011 and as the Douglas County board assistant from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that Hitt worked for the Douglas County Health Department.

A resident of Myrtle Creek, Hitt served as the office manager for Mountain View Memorial Chapel from 2020 through 2022. She volunteers with the Friends of Umpqua Valley Police K9 Programs and serves on the board of For the Love of Paws.

Sowa returned to her home town of Roseburg to become city recorder in 2018. She was named assistant city manager/city recorder in March 2021.