City of Centralia City Manager Search Committee met July 17.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
The members of the City Manager Search Committee met on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Centralia City Hall. The meeting was called to order by Committee Chairman Forrest Langenfeld.
Roll Call:
Tom Ashby, Marcus Holland, Chuck Lane, Forrest Langenfeld, and Greg Sutton Ex-officio Members: Mayor Herb Williams and Councilman David Sauer
Staff: City Clerk Kim Enke
Absent: Sheila Burcham and Steve Upchurch
Public Participation:
None
Minutes:
A motion was made by Committee Member Sutton and seconded by Committee Member Lane to approve the minutes of the June 26, 2019 minutes. The motion carried.
Prior to adjourning to closed session, the committee discussed the number of applications received. City Clerk Enke reported that 24 resumes have been submitted. Councilman Sauer questioned where the applicants were from. The Clerk reported that several of the candidates have experience in Illinois and two of the candidates are in the vicinity of Centralia. Committee Member Ashby questioned the process of reviewing the applications. He stated that each member could review and narrow down the applicants to approximately half or the entire Council could review the resumes exclusively since there were only 24. He stated that he wasn’t making a suggestion, only wanting to be aware of the format. He asked how the Chairman was recommending handling it. He recommended that the committee develop a format and give the Council a very good background of the candidates in order to let the Council decide how they want to pursue it. He noted that the committee is only making recommendations. Committee Member Ashby stated that he wanted to ask the Council Members what format they want and wanted to get their opinion. He added that he doesn’t want the committee to be making the decision. Councilman Sauer stated that this could be an item of discussion on the City Council Agenda for the Council to discuss. Councilman Sauer and Committee Chairman Langenfeld discussed developing a set of criteria for each person on the committee to score each applicant based on uniform criteria and then present that information to the City Council. Committee Chairman Langenfeld stated that the committee is advisory only and the role of the committee was to get the process started, do some review of the applicants, and then the Council be presented with the information in order to review it and make the final decision. Committee Member Ashby stated that he would like the City Council to report back their desired process and criteria required.
Committee Member Sutton explained that he had discussed the process with Dawn Peters at the ILCMA and reported the assistance that is available to the City of Centralia, including the use of senior advisors at no charge and their ability to communicate the opening with members in transition. He noted that this communication resulted in two applications. He encouraged the Chairman to contact one of the senior advisors that would cover the Centralia area. Committee Member Ashby stated that he has spoken to Centralia’s Legislative Consultant and has asked him if he knew some people in government, corporate administration, or similar fields that may be interested and in order to get some feedback from him. Committee Member Lane asked if there was any feedback about a temporary City Manager during the interim. Committee Member Sutton stated that it was a topic of conversation between himself and the ILCMA representative. He stated that the two resumes that were submitted recently would be interim. Councilman Sauer and Mayor Williams stated that the hiring of an interim would be discussion for the Council. Mayor Williams reminded the committee that it was previously discussed by the committee, but has not been discussed by the Council yet. Committee Member Ashby stated that the most important job in the City is the City Manager. He stated that hiring the City Manager is one of the most important duties of the Council. He stated that he has had experience in the past with City Managers that have cost the City millions of dollars in debt. He stated that the cost of a headhunter needs to be considered to find a professional City Manager to fit the criteria. The development of the criteria can help with the selection process. He stated that the cost needs to be determined in order to provide another alternative and more than 25 applicants. He stated that he doesn’t think the number of applicants will double and the Council will need to seek professional expertise to be successful at finding candidates. He added that he wanted to exhaust all options to present to the Council for consideration. Councilman Sauer stated that after review of the pool of candidates, it may need to be something that is considered. Committee Member Lane cautioned that he has seen a lot of school districts that have used recruiters and have wasted a lot of money on search firms. Committee Member Sutton encouraged getting feedback from the senior advisor before utilizing a search firm. He stated that he will share the contact information of the advisor with Chairman Langenfeld. Chairman Langenfeld stated the importance of knowing what the Council is looking for.
A motion was made by Committee Member Ashby and seconded by Committee Member Holland to adjourn the meeting To Closed Session Under 5 ILCS 120/2(C)(1) The Appointment, Employment, Compensation, Discipline, Performance, Or Dismissal Of Specific Employees Of The Public Body. The motion carried and the meeting at 3:14 p.m.
The City Manager Search Committee reconvened at 4:14 p.m. Committee Chairman Forrest Langenfeld called the meeting to order.
Roll Call:
Tom Ashby, Marcus Holland, Chuck Lane, Forrest Langenfeld, and Greg Sutton Ex-officio Members: Mayor Herb Williams and Councilman David Sauer
Staff: City Clerk Kim Enke
Absent: Sheila Burcham and Steve Upchurch
New Business:
Committee Member Ashby discussed not extending the current ads due to any pending changes in the requirements or criteria of the candidates following more direction from the City Council. He stated that if the requirements change, the ad will need to be revised. He stressed continuing the ads anywhere they can be ran free of additional charge. Committee Member Sutton stated that the ILCMA ad in addition to the ICMA ad is no additional charge. Councilman Sauer asked the Committee for their input in regards to if the candidates need to have 5 years of city management experience. Committee Member Lane stated that at minimum, some municipal experience should be required, either as a manager or assistant manager. Committee Member Sutton stated that 5 years of experience will allow for them to have experience with contract negotiations, budget cycles, and grant cycles. He stated that he would like the candidate have experience taking their City to the next level. He stated that the City has a great foundation, but a City Manager that only maintains that foundation may be someone that is just as bad as someone that puts the city in $30 million of debt. Committee Member Holland also agreed that some municipal management experience is required, but less than 5 years of experience should not eliminate someone. Committee Chairman Langenfeld stated that his fear is that 4-5 candidates would be selected to be interviewed and after the interviews there are none that remain. Councilman Sauer asked the City Clerk how many candidates have over 5 years of experience. She stated that more than the majority of the candidates did have over 5 years of experience as City Managers or Assistant City Managers. He stated that he was concerned that the 5 year requirement was hindering the number of applicants, but with that many with over 5 years of experience it doesn’t appear to be. Committee Member Holland noted that to get more candidates the ad would need to be broader and he didn’t feel that the ad should be broadened or it would result in less qualified applicants. It was determined to have the Clerk continue the ads.
Old Business:
None
Other Business:
The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday July 23, 2019 at 3 p.m.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 4:23 p.m.
https://cityofcentralia.org/vertical/sites/%7BFC680FE7-BE5C-4903-A103-67AF5EF51655%7D/uploads/July_17_2019_minutes.pdf
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