The City Council held a work session on Oct. 1 to discuss options for recruitment of the city manager position. Mayor Susan Coleman was absent.
Assistant City Manager Cecily Pretty provided information on former recruitment routes the city took through the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments recruitment firm, and a draft internal recruitment package drawn up by herself as well as a draft of salary ranges. She said other recruitment firms had not gotten back to her yet.
The question is whether to hire a firm to find applicants for the job, or to allow the city to seek applicants on its own, hereto referred to as internal recruitment.
Councilmember Lisa Gourley initiated the discussion by noting there seemed to be a majority interest during a previous city meeting to hire internally. Councilmember Dylan Richards agreed. Gourley continued on to address the question about whether the current council should make the decision, or to wait for the newly-elected council members to make the decision.
“I have never met a quarterback that didn’t want the ball,” she said. “I’ve never met a quarterback that said ‘Let’s wait for the next string. Let’s leave the ball on the field and not do our job.’ I find that really concerning, but I also, and respect for those people that are going to be on the council, that I want them to be able to move forward and have respect for their positions as well. So although we have a responsibility to do our jobs that we were elected to do, I do believe that we should also look to the future and what is best interest of our city.”
As such, Gourley suggested a new city manager be hired on a one-year basis to be reviewed for a longer term at the end of that year, giving the new council the option to weigh in.
Councilmember Angelita Sanchez responded to say that “taking a time out isn’t dropping the ball,” adding that she is concerned about a majority of the outgoing council members setting up a city manager that may or may not work well together.
“There’s nothing wrong with taking a time out during a game,” Sanchez concluded.
Councilmember Josh Thorstad expressed interest in doing an internal recruitment, adding that the recruitment process itself could continue during the election season, and Mayor Pro Tem Greg Mahler also said he was interested in the city doing its own recruitment process.
As the council continued to discuss what the process would consist of, city staff Blair Larsen explained that the city’s charter only allows an interim city manager to stay in that position for no longer than six months. As such, the current interim city manager, Jason Ogden, can only fill the position for six months, after which a new hire or another interim will have to step in.
While most council members were fairly silent on the issue or expressed support to move forward with hiring internally, Sanchez said she would like to wait until other recruitment firms provide costs for their services and until the new council members are seated before any decision is made.
Pretty said she could place on the next City Council agenda a discussion about recruitment strategies, during which time motions could be voted on. With no more discussion, the work session was closed.