City Manager Selection Process
The search for a new City Manager is finally moving. The advertisement appeared in the International City Management Association’s Newsletter this month. The online version appeared just before the 12th and the mass mailing was delivered between the 20th and 21st. The deadline for resumes and applications is July 10th.
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The process that the City Council has chosen will probably not result in interviews until late July at the earliest. Theoretically, we could have a new Manager onboard by the first of September. I wish I could be optimistic about the end result of the process, but the direction in which the Mayor has taken the Council has tainted it.
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The use of a headhunter has and will continue to skew the process. As you are reading this, the headhunter is contacting over a hundred of his firm’s contacts and suggesting that they submit an application. The cronies are in the game plan and as such, favorites to be interviewed. Out of perhaps fifty candidates, the headhunter, not your Council, will choose five to be interviewed.
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Of course the individual members of the Council will be told who the other candidates are but they will be discouraged from even considering them. And, you can bet that the Mayor will make sure that only the consultant’s choices will see the light of day. During my career as a city manager I participated in selection processes using headhunters and not. I’ve been blessed and damned by both. I learned and observed that too often the outcome expected for a particular city depended on which consultant the city used. Not good.
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Lastly, why has the selection process taken so long? Answer: Phil Nelson did not have a new position until a couple of weeks ago and the Mayor had many debts to pay back. She stalled even initiating the process for many months in order to avoid harming his chances at securing a new position. When a city manager is seeking a different position, it is ten times better to be employed than unemployed. By not advertising the position, cities outside of the State were not aware that he had been sent packing. Fact: The members of the press in the metropolitan area he ended up in thought, from his resume, that he was still employed by Northglenn. I will go into the details a little later for those of you who have not been involved in City affairs.
-
The process that the City Council has chosen will probably not result in interviews until late July at the earliest. Theoretically, we could have a new Manager onboard by the first of September. I wish I could be optimistic about the end result of the process, but the direction in which the Mayor has taken the Council has tainted it.
-
The use of a headhunter has and will continue to skew the process. As you are reading this, the headhunter is contacting over a hundred of his firm’s contacts and suggesting that they submit an application. The cronies are in the game plan and as such, favorites to be interviewed. Out of perhaps fifty candidates, the headhunter, not your Council, will choose five to be interviewed.
-
Of course the individual members of the Council will be told who the other candidates are but they will be discouraged from even considering them. And, you can bet that the Mayor will make sure that only the consultant’s choices will see the light of day. During my career as a city manager I participated in selection processes using headhunters and not. I’ve been blessed and damned by both. I learned and observed that too often the outcome expected for a particular city depended on which consultant the city used. Not good.
-
Lastly, why has the selection process taken so long? Answer: Phil Nelson did not have a new position until a couple of weeks ago and the Mayor had many debts to pay back. She stalled even initiating the process for many months in order to avoid harming his chances at securing a new position. When a city manager is seeking a different position, it is ten times better to be employed than unemployed. By not advertising the position, cities outside of the State were not aware that he had been sent packing. Fact: The members of the press in the metropolitan area he ended up in thought, from his resume, that he was still employed by Northglenn. I will go into the details a little later for those of you who have not been involved in City affairs.
posted by Gene Wieneke at
12:43 PM
3 Comments:
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Council can't win either way with you. Give them the credit they deserve - they represent the voice of the people, which is varied and divided. Council is fully capable of choosing a candidate to lead the employees of the City, and judging from their commitment, will not just easily cast off and not consider candidates... except maybe your application, which is really the edge behind your comment. Even if you were qualified, you surely wouldn't have the support of the employees. You easily forget that the voice for progress and forethought is more prevalent than the loud yelling "you're doing it all wrong!!!" that comes from a select few.
By
Anonymous, at 7:57 AM
If I were manager I would eliminate the senior staff members who are
unqualified for their positions to the praise of ALL the rest of the
employees. Since I have no interest in the position, I will continue to
point out your incompetency until the majority of the Council comes to
gripes with the problem; cowpoke hats especially included.
By
Gene Wieneke, at 8:46 PM
Right. You have plenty of interest. You don't want to actually DO the job, but you admit you're going to tell every person who either had, has or will have the job how you think they need to do it. As if your way is the only correct way.
Remember that incompetency isn't the same as a character flaw, a personality - or a fashion statement. Should an employee actually show repeated incompetency, it will be obvious.
By
Anonymous, at 11:21 PM
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