In our most recent WGVA appearance, Ted Baker asked us if there was any truth to the rumors he had been hearing that the City Manager search was window dressing for a predetermined outcome. We responded, “Time will tell.” If it’s a “done deal” then no one told us and certainly, if we found out, we would not be silent about it. Shady deals never happen in the public eye, that’s why they’re usually referred to as happening ‘in the back room’, but we haven’t been a part of any back room discussions about the search. Maybe because there haven’t been any.
But Ted’s question got us thinking. The community meetings, the involvement of Mayor Einstein, the public discussion of process all have us feeling pretty reassured that the search is being conducted in earnest, for the best interests of Geneva. But what would lead people to believe a candidate has been pre-selected? What clues would the public have that this is a “done deal”? Believe it or not, a quick ‘google’ search online turns up many a case of searches gone astray. One in particular, the Eastern Michigan University’s search for a new University President offered several hints. From that, and other sources, we’ve pieced together a list of Top Ten Clues:
10. A potential candidate has consistently dropped hints to colleagues about his/her interest in the post.
9. Immediately following a major event (such as an election) an executive resigns and lavishes praise upon a potential candidate.
8. A search committee is formed by the potential candidate.
7. The timeline for the search coincides with major holidays and other ‘downtime’ for the candidate pool.
6. The printed advertisements for the position are issued only two weeks prior to the deadline, which is industry code for ‘pre-selected candidate.’
5. The search committee continually stresses the need to consider ‘non-traditional’ candidates without prior experience in the field.
4. “Field trips” to communities and/or projects of potential candidates are scheduled prior to the announcement of the vacant position.
3. Potential candidates who would otherwise be blocked from applying (either by traditional qualifications or city charter prohibition) make public statements challenging those conditions.
2. When questioned, potential candidates “would neither confirm nor deny an intent to apply for the position.”
1. At every turn, supporters of a particular candidate reassure others that the process is completely open and undetermined.
Based on those clues, are the rumors true? Will Don Cass or Phillip Morris be our next city manager? Our answer remains the same, only time will tell.
Wednesday, January 16
Top Ten Clues A Search Is Over Before It Begins
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6 comments:
There is always the possibility that Phil Beckley's committee does have someone in mind. This is a small town and such things are known to happen. Here is what I would suggest.
If "someone" with a non-traditional background was put up for the job, then Phil would have to state what in this persons background made them stand out to the degree that there were considered qualified for this job.
One qualification that would be a hard sell would be that they had been the Mayor of a community that had City Manager. I would want to know precisely what this part time Mayor did that was so outstanding that he/she could take credit for successful city management. If the former Mayor was so successful, why did that community not fire the City Manager and go back to a City that was managed by the Mayor and Council? Or just fire the Manager and hire the Mayor?
If the Mayor was that good and that much in control, were not hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars not wasted on an ineffective Manager who could have been let go?
As this person was voted on by our City Council I would want each and every member of the Council to explain why they felt that this person was the most qualified. And "I have known and worked with them for years" means that that member of the Council could not cast a vote that was not tainted by the personal relationship.
All of this being said, I am not wedded to the strict educational requirements. I worked for Goulds Pumps and one of the finest CEO's that we had was Vincent Napolitano.
At the time he was made President and CEO, his lack of a four year degree would have kept him from being hired as an engineer trainee!
As in many things, diligence and honesty will be required in this process.
Tom,
You seem to have hit the nail right on the head. As we wrote, we are not asserting that the fix is in. As you said, we just want everyone to be diligent and honest in selecting a candidate for what is a very important post within the city government. Your points about experience 'alongside' a city manager not being a direct corollary to the relevant experience to be an effective city manager is well taken, and we hope every councilor will take that to heart. As a citizen at one of the city manager search ward meetings said, "Sure, experience is important, but what kind of experience are you talking about?" The City Charter forbids the any member of Council (which includes the Mayor) from exercising any administrative function, so, we agree that Mayor Cass's experience as mayor would not count much, if at all, toward city manager experience.
Whether the final candidate is someone familiar to Geneva or not, each vote to appoint should come with the kind of well-reasoned justification that you describe. Especially, when we as a community are beginning to recover from a political culture whose cast of characters specialized in pre-ordained outcomes, such as giving a city manager a raise without the required performance evaluation. We are of the opinion that the last two city manager searches were pre-ordained and we'd hate to see it go that way again. Open government requires open searches.
Tom, your comment about getting rid of the City Manager actually makes no sense. Think about what exactly each position does and why one was created? I highly doubt that everything that the City Manager has done has been completely independent of other sources.
Positions need people above them, too much power in one place can lead to break down in areas. Having two positions and paying the mayor less makes more sense. This allows for some form of check and balance.
David,
We're glad you're posting. We'll let Tom speak for himself, but we didn't take his comment about the city manager to mean that he actually wanted the post eliminated. The buck does need to stop with council, not the city manager. If they give up over their power to the city manager and let him take the lead, 'unchecked', then they have not done their job. We have a post scheduled on what we call this 'inversion' of power in the City. Stay tuned.
David;
I am not suggesting that we change the current structure of the City government. I think that what we have had is working fine. To run a city today takes more than a part time Mayor, Council and volunteers for department heads.
What I was talking about was a part time Mayor claiming that the work done by a City Manager had all been done at his direction.
And that would be in the context of that Mayor wanting to now become City Manager.
Tom,
We enjoy the dialogue and we're glad to host such exchanges. We feel they serve the public purpose and the cause of open government. We have to keep the opinions, fact-based, though. So while we can appreciate your argument, we want to point out that this discussion is about a hypothetical situation: If said applicant claimed said experience...
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