Springfield City Attorney Dan Wichmer weighed in with legal fine points on the city manager search process in the Springfield News-Leader today.
It is recommended reading 29
Showing posts with label City Manager. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City Manager. Show all posts
Saturday, August 23, 2008
City Manager Search and Selection Process; Part 3
Not opinion
Springfield City Charter
Article 3
Section 3.2. Compensation
At this time there is not an ordinance on the August 25, 2008 City Council Agenda fixing the compensation of the new city manager.
The next regularly scheduled Council meeting, (after the August 25 meeting) not including luncheons or special meetings which have not yet been announced, is September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008 is also the date that has been announced as the official starting date of city manager Greg Burris.
Springfield City Charter
Article 3
Section 3.2. Compensation
The city manager shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by ordinance.
At this time there is not an ordinance on the August 25, 2008 City Council Agenda fixing the compensation of the new city manager.
The next regularly scheduled Council meeting, (after the August 25 meeting) not including luncheons or special meetings which have not yet been announced, is September 15, 2008.
September 15, 2008 is also the date that has been announced as the official starting date of city manager Greg Burris.
may -
4: shall, must —used in law where the sense, purpose, or policy requires this interpretation
Friday, August 22, 2008
City Manager Search and Selection Process; Part 2
Opinion
I posted City Manager Points of Reference on August 9, following is my personal analysis of the meaning of those references:
Springfield City Charter
Article III. The City Manager
The City Charter, indicates the council shall choose the city manager "on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications," which Greg Burris has, but also indicates the Council shall do so with special attention "to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations."
It's my opinion, and I'm not a lawyer, that if the Charter had not meant the council shall choose a city manager who actually had experience in and knowledge of municipal administrations that the charter wouldn't have advised the council to choose the city manager with special attention given "to his experience in...municipal administrations" and there would have been a period between "qualifications" and "with," and it might have read something like this, for example, my additions in red:
The city manager shall be chosen by the council on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications.
(The city council should, could, can, or might make) special reference to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations.
Because there is no separation, again, in my lay opinion, the sentence appears, in legal terms, to state:
The city manager shall be chosen by the council on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications (and shall make) special reference to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations.
Further indication that the intended, mandatory qualification was the city manager position be filled by an applicant who actually had experience in municipal administrations, is the fact that the city, in their job description, which was posted by the search firm Arcus Public, identified what that experience in municipal administration was to be when applied to the "ideal candidate:"
Arcus Public
City Manager - Springfield, MO
Note: "Interested candidates..."
1. "SHOULD possess a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration or related discipline from an accredited college or university."
2. "Possession of an MBA or Master's Degree in Public Administration, or related field IS PREFERRED."
3. "Ten years of municipal experience, with prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or equivalent in a comparable or larger community."
4. "Certification as an ICMA Credentialed Manager within 12 months of appointment IS PREFERRED."
There is no SHOULD, there is no indication that the Council would PREFER the candidate to have actual city manager, assistant or deputy city manager or equivalent experience in a comparable or larger community in the job description. The job description therefore, indicates that there was an acceptance on the part of the city and/or the Council that the "ideal candidate" would have municipal administrations experience and that they thought the "ideal candidate" would have "Ten years of municipal experience, with prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or equivalent in a comparable or larger community," this was relayed in the job description by the simple omission of the terms "should" or "preferred."
Therefore, I believe it is a legitimate complaint that since Greg Burris has not had prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or equivalent in a comparable or larger community, and that according to the spirit of the City Charter, special reference to his experience in municipal administrations was to be paid by the Council, and their job description further defined what that experience was to be, the Council did not follow the mandate of the City Charter which they are bound to observe.
In fairness, I believe the Council considers Greg Burris' experience at MSU to be "comparable" experience "in a comparable or larger community," however, it is not experience in a municipal administration.
So, in my opinion, for what it's worth:
Legitimate Complaint 2: The City Council did not follow the mandate of the City Charter that, "The city manager shall be chosen by the council...with special reference to his experience in...municipal administrations," even though it appears they accepted that mandate by further defining it in the city manager job description.
*emphasis mine
I posted City Manager Points of Reference on August 9, following is my personal analysis of the meaning of those references:
Springfield City Charter
Article III. The City Manager
Section 3.1. Qualifications; Term of office
"The city manager shall be chosen by the council on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations...."*
The City Charter, indicates the council shall choose the city manager "on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications," which Greg Burris has, but also indicates the Council shall do so with special attention "to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations."
Shall: b —used in laws, regulations, or directives to express what is mandatory
It's my opinion, and I'm not a lawyer, that if the Charter had not meant the council shall choose a city manager who actually had experience in and knowledge of municipal administrations that the charter wouldn't have advised the council to choose the city manager with special attention given "to his experience in...municipal administrations" and there would have been a period between "qualifications" and "with," and it might have read something like this, for example, my additions in red:
The city manager shall be chosen by the council on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications.
(The city council should, could, can, or might make) special reference to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations.
Because there is no separation, again, in my lay opinion, the sentence appears, in legal terms, to state:
The city manager shall be chosen by the council on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications (and shall make) special reference to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations.
Further indication that the intended, mandatory qualification was the city manager position be filled by an applicant who actually had experience in municipal administrations, is the fact that the city, in their job description, which was posted by the search firm Arcus Public, identified what that experience in municipal administration was to be when applied to the "ideal candidate:"
Arcus Public
City Manager - Springfield, MO
"Interested candidates should possess a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Business Administration or related discipline from an accredited college or university. Possession of an MBA or Master’s Degree in Public Administration, or related field is preferred. Ten years of municipal experience, with prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or the equivalent in a comparable or larger community. Certification as an ICMA Credentialed Manager within 12 months of appointment is preferred." (page 5)*
Note: "Interested candidates..."
1. "SHOULD possess a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration or related discipline from an accredited college or university."
2. "Possession of an MBA or Master's Degree in Public Administration, or related field IS PREFERRED."
3. "Ten years of municipal experience, with prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or equivalent in a comparable or larger community."
4. "Certification as an ICMA Credentialed Manager within 12 months of appointment IS PREFERRED."
There is no SHOULD, there is no indication that the Council would PREFER the candidate to have actual city manager, assistant or deputy city manager or equivalent experience in a comparable or larger community in the job description. The job description therefore, indicates that there was an acceptance on the part of the city and/or the Council that the "ideal candidate" would have municipal administrations experience and that they thought the "ideal candidate" would have "Ten years of municipal experience, with prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or equivalent in a comparable or larger community," this was relayed in the job description by the simple omission of the terms "should" or "preferred."
Therefore, I believe it is a legitimate complaint that since Greg Burris has not had prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or equivalent in a comparable or larger community, and that according to the spirit of the City Charter, special reference to his experience in municipal administrations was to be paid by the Council, and their job description further defined what that experience was to be, the Council did not follow the mandate of the City Charter which they are bound to observe.
In fairness, I believe the Council considers Greg Burris' experience at MSU to be "comparable" experience "in a comparable or larger community," however, it is not experience in a municipal administration.
So, in my opinion, for what it's worth:
Legitimate Complaint 2: The City Council did not follow the mandate of the City Charter that, "The city manager shall be chosen by the council...with special reference to his experience in...municipal administrations," even though it appears they accepted that mandate by further defining it in the city manager job description.
*emphasis mine
Thursday, August 21, 2008
City Manager Search and Selection Process; Part 1
Opinion
I have chosen to weigh in on the city manager search and selection process because, it is my opinion that, in some regards, people are not considering the City Manager search and hiring process based on the right foundation. To draw opinions of value, those opinions should spring from a foundation of fact and relevant, legal, city policy guidelines.
There have been some legitimate complaints about the process. One argument against the process that I think is a legitimate complaint is that the public wasn't allowed adequate time to get to know the candidates.
Early in the process, the co-chair of the City Manager Search Committee, Mayor Pro Tem Gary Deaver, told the Council and the public that they were not going to get into a hurry to hire the new City Manager. He indicated that interim City Manager Evelyn Honea was well qualified and they could take as much time as they wanted to look at candidates for the position.
It's my recollection, as a blogger/reporter who has attended City Council meetings and luncheons and many other city meetings since early April of 2007, and was present during much of the relevant discussions, that the Search Committee was formed, in the first place, because our volunteer, unpaid, City Council, many of whom work jobs to support their families and make a living, did not have time to initially search for the candidates and so the Council voted to consider search firms to winnow down the field in an open, public meeting. The search firm settled upon was Arcus Public and their hiring was also approved in an open, public meeting of the City Council.
It is also on record that Arcus Public initially contacted over 250 candidates, narrowed that number to 20 candidates and then to 8 candidates who were then brought to Springfield and interviewed extensively by the City Council, and possibly the Search Committee, I'm not sure on that point, but they were again reduced in number, after much interviewing, to the three finalists, MSU's Greg Burris, Hot Springs, Arkansas' Kent Myers and Edmond, Oklahoma's Larry Stevens.
One Council member is on record expressing concerns that the public wasn't allowed enough of an opportunity to meet and get to know the candidates. In fact, in this Springfield News-Leader article, Denny Whayne was quoted expressing just that thought, "I don't think they (the public) did (have enough time to get to know the candidates)," Whayne said. "An ice cream social and a breakfast meet-and-greet. I don't know how you'd have time to get to know anybody.""
In the same News-Leader article, Mayor Carlson, while discussing employee comment cards about the finalists, was quoted as saying, "I can tell you that initial impressions can be misleading," and, "I don't think it would be wise to hire somebody based only on a 5- to 10-minute visit."
So, due to the small amount of time the employees got to actually spend with the finalists, it seems, to me, Carlson was discounting the value of the employees comments regarding the candidates, and don't get me wrong, I agree with Carlson that first impressions can be misleading and I agree it wouldn't be wise to hire someone based on a five or ten minute visit, therefore, I also agree with Whayne. If I agree that city employees' comments were not particularly weighty because city employees didn't have enough interaction with the candidates to really be taken seriously, likewise, I must agree that the publics' comments regarding the actual selection of the new city manager were not particularly weighty because the public didn't have enough interaction with the candidates to have their comments taken seriously, either.
Therefore, in my opinion, not enough time was given to city employees or the public with the candidates for them to form a valid or valuable preference regarding the candidates, so, if that is the case, their "initial impressions" couldn't have been given much value or weight by the Council, whose job it is to represent the citizens, so, in the end, the Council didn't, in this case, represent the people, they represented themselves, individually.
In fairness, I do believe the City Manager Search Committee seriously considered public input regarding the qualities the public would like to see in a city manager, but I do not believe adequate time was given to city employees or the public in the actual selection process of the new city manager and considering Deaver had stated they (Search Committee/Council) weren't going to get into a hurry to hire a new City Manager and that interim City Manager Evelyn Honea was qualified to serve until they reached a decision, it seems, to me, they could have taken as much time as they wanted to allow the public and city employees to interact with the candidates so that their comments and advise regarding the actual selection would have been of more value in the final decision making process of the City Council.
It is also fair to note that, in my opinion, the process was not rushed prior to the Councils' choice of the three finalists but, after the three finalists were chosen, the pace did seem to pick up and there seemed to be a sense of acceleration in the process to get the decision over with and behind the Council.
I do not believe it is fair to the Council to assume they erred by not choosing a recommendation made by the City Manager Search Committee, if there was a distinct preference. Some have indicated there was a distinct order of preference, others have denied that. I'm not going to get into an argument with anyone about whether there was an order of preference offered by the Search Committee because I don't think it is particularly relevant. It was not up to the Search Committee to select Springfield's next city manager. That job, according to the Springfield City Charter is the job of the City Council. So, even if the City Manager Search Committee adamantly recommended a single candidate as their number one choice, it did not and would not, absolve the Council from their duty under the City Charter to select the new city manager. I would have found much more reason to complain, personally, if the City Council had relinquished their responsibility to select the city manager to a committee rather than do their duty.
Section 2.7. Appointment and removal of city manager, as approved BY VOTE OF THE PEOPLE April 1, 1986.
It was always the intention that the City Manager Search Committee would oversee the search for candidates. It was never the intention of the City Council that the Search Committee would select the City Manager for the Council. In fact, the City Manager is under the purview of the Council and is, according to the City Charter, to be selected by the Council and if, for some reason, the City Manager fails to perform his job satisfactorily, it is the City Council who must vote to approve a resolution to have him or her removed. No one else has the ability to approve a resolution to remove the City Manager but the Council.
So, in my opinion, for what it's worth:
Legitimate complaint 1: The public was not allowed adequate time to get to know the candidates and were, therefore, shut out of the actual selection process because they could not make a recommendation based on anything other than a first impression of the candidates.
Illegitimate complaint 1: The Council erred and was somehow bound to accept and hire a recommendation by the City Manager Search Committee. The Search Committee was to assist the Council in the preliminary process, then hand over the decision to the City Council.
*emphasis mine
I have chosen to weigh in on the city manager search and selection process because, it is my opinion that, in some regards, people are not considering the City Manager search and hiring process based on the right foundation. To draw opinions of value, those opinions should spring from a foundation of fact and relevant, legal, city policy guidelines.
There have been some legitimate complaints about the process. One argument against the process that I think is a legitimate complaint is that the public wasn't allowed adequate time to get to know the candidates.
Early in the process, the co-chair of the City Manager Search Committee, Mayor Pro Tem Gary Deaver, told the Council and the public that they were not going to get into a hurry to hire the new City Manager. He indicated that interim City Manager Evelyn Honea was well qualified and they could take as much time as they wanted to look at candidates for the position.
It's my recollection, as a blogger/reporter who has attended City Council meetings and luncheons and many other city meetings since early April of 2007, and was present during much of the relevant discussions, that the Search Committee was formed, in the first place, because our volunteer, unpaid, City Council, many of whom work jobs to support their families and make a living, did not have time to initially search for the candidates and so the Council voted to consider search firms to winnow down the field in an open, public meeting. The search firm settled upon was Arcus Public and their hiring was also approved in an open, public meeting of the City Council.
It is also on record that Arcus Public initially contacted over 250 candidates, narrowed that number to 20 candidates and then to 8 candidates who were then brought to Springfield and interviewed extensively by the City Council, and possibly the Search Committee, I'm not sure on that point, but they were again reduced in number, after much interviewing, to the three finalists, MSU's Greg Burris, Hot Springs, Arkansas' Kent Myers and Edmond, Oklahoma's Larry Stevens.
One Council member is on record expressing concerns that the public wasn't allowed enough of an opportunity to meet and get to know the candidates. In fact, in this Springfield News-Leader article, Denny Whayne was quoted expressing just that thought, "I don't think they (the public) did (have enough time to get to know the candidates)," Whayne said. "An ice cream social and a breakfast meet-and-greet. I don't know how you'd have time to get to know anybody.""
In the same News-Leader article, Mayor Carlson, while discussing employee comment cards about the finalists, was quoted as saying, "I can tell you that initial impressions can be misleading," and, "I don't think it would be wise to hire somebody based only on a 5- to 10-minute visit."
So, due to the small amount of time the employees got to actually spend with the finalists, it seems, to me, Carlson was discounting the value of the employees comments regarding the candidates, and don't get me wrong, I agree with Carlson that first impressions can be misleading and I agree it wouldn't be wise to hire someone based on a five or ten minute visit, therefore, I also agree with Whayne. If I agree that city employees' comments were not particularly weighty because city employees didn't have enough interaction with the candidates to really be taken seriously, likewise, I must agree that the publics' comments regarding the actual selection of the new city manager were not particularly weighty because the public didn't have enough interaction with the candidates to have their comments taken seriously, either.
Therefore, in my opinion, not enough time was given to city employees or the public with the candidates for them to form a valid or valuable preference regarding the candidates, so, if that is the case, their "initial impressions" couldn't have been given much value or weight by the Council, whose job it is to represent the citizens, so, in the end, the Council didn't, in this case, represent the people, they represented themselves, individually.
In fairness, I do believe the City Manager Search Committee seriously considered public input regarding the qualities the public would like to see in a city manager, but I do not believe adequate time was given to city employees or the public in the actual selection process of the new city manager and considering Deaver had stated they (Search Committee/Council) weren't going to get into a hurry to hire a new City Manager and that interim City Manager Evelyn Honea was qualified to serve until they reached a decision, it seems, to me, they could have taken as much time as they wanted to allow the public and city employees to interact with the candidates so that their comments and advise regarding the actual selection would have been of more value in the final decision making process of the City Council.
It is also fair to note that, in my opinion, the process was not rushed prior to the Councils' choice of the three finalists but, after the three finalists were chosen, the pace did seem to pick up and there seemed to be a sense of acceleration in the process to get the decision over with and behind the Council.
I do not believe it is fair to the Council to assume they erred by not choosing a recommendation made by the City Manager Search Committee, if there was a distinct preference. Some have indicated there was a distinct order of preference, others have denied that. I'm not going to get into an argument with anyone about whether there was an order of preference offered by the Search Committee because I don't think it is particularly relevant. It was not up to the Search Committee to select Springfield's next city manager. That job, according to the Springfield City Charter is the job of the City Council. So, even if the City Manager Search Committee adamantly recommended a single candidate as their number one choice, it did not and would not, absolve the Council from their duty under the City Charter to select the new city manager. I would have found much more reason to complain, personally, if the City Council had relinquished their responsibility to select the city manager to a committee rather than do their duty.
Section 2.7. Appointment and removal of city manager, as approved BY VOTE OF THE PEOPLE April 1, 1986.
"The council shall appoint an officer who shall have the title of city manager who shall have the powers and perform the duties provided in this Charter. No councilmember shall receive such appointment during the term for which he or she shall have been elected or within one year after the expiration of his or her term. The of the City Manager shall be for an indefinite term, he may be suspended by a resolution which shall set forth the reasons for his suspension and proposed removal. A copy of such resolution shall be served immediately upon the city manager. The city manager shall have fifteen (15) days in which to reply thereto in writing, and, upon his request, he shall be afforded a public hearing, which shall occur not earlier than ten (10) days nor later than fifteen (15) days after such hearing is requested. After the public hearing, if one be requested, and after full consideration, the council by majority vote of its members may adopt a final resolution of removal."*
It was always the intention that the City Manager Search Committee would oversee the search for candidates. It was never the intention of the City Council that the Search Committee would select the City Manager for the Council. In fact, the City Manager is under the purview of the Council and is, according to the City Charter, to be selected by the Council and if, for some reason, the City Manager fails to perform his job satisfactorily, it is the City Council who must vote to approve a resolution to have him or her removed. No one else has the ability to approve a resolution to remove the City Manager but the Council.
So, in my opinion, for what it's worth:
Legitimate complaint 1: The public was not allowed adequate time to get to know the candidates and were, therefore, shut out of the actual selection process because they could not make a recommendation based on anything other than a first impression of the candidates.
Illegitimate complaint 1: The Council erred and was somehow bound to accept and hire a recommendation by the City Manager Search Committee. The Search Committee was to assist the Council in the preliminary process, then hand over the decision to the City Council.
*emphasis mine
Saturday, August 09, 2008
City Manager Points of Reference
Springfield City Charter
ARTICLE III. THE CITY MANAGER
Arcus Public:
City Manager - Springfield, MO:
ARTICLE III. THE CITY MANAGER
Section 3.1. Qualifications; Term of office
The city manager shall be chosen by the council on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to his experience in, and his knowledge of municipal administrations. He may or may not be a resident of the city or the state at the time of his selection, but shall reside within the city during his tenure of office. He shall be appointed for an indefinite term, subject to removal as herin provided, and shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office. The manager shall designate in writing, filed with the city clerk, one of the department directors or one of the administrative assistants to perform the duties of the city manager in the event of his absence or disability; if he should fail to do so, the council shall make such desgnation.
Arcus Public:
City Manager - Springfield, MO:
"Interested candidates should possess a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Business Administration or related discipline from an accredited college or university. Possession of an MBA or Master’s Degree in Public Administration, or related field is preferred. Ten years of municipal experience, with prior service as a City Manager, Assistant/Deputy City Manager or the equivalent in a comparable or larger community. Certification as an ICMA Credentialed Manager within 12 months of appointment is preferred.
"The ideal candidate will have superior leadership skills and documented success creating and implementing a city-wide strategic plan. He/she will be innovative and creative and be a champion of new initiatives while serving the City of Springfield. He/she should possess a record of accomplishment and success with redevelopment projects and a clear understanding of issues surrounding union and pension plans. The candidate’s background and experience should include exposure to a conservative environment with strong community involvement. This individual should be politically savvy and have the capacity to understand municipal issues on a technical level and convey them to laypersons in a concise, articulate manner. The City Manager should have demonstrated experience managing operations by directing and coordinating activities consistent with established goals, objectives and policies. He/she should also share a genuine interest in the growth of the community." (page 5)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Life of Jason Interviews City Manager Candidates
Jason at Life Of Jason blog is doing email interviews with the City Manager candidates. He has two of them up so far. Good questions and interesting responses.
Excerpts, spotlighting one of the questions he posed to the candidates, with links to the first two email interviews:
Q & A: City Manager Candidate Greg Burris
LoJ Question:
4. How would you make your office accessible to the public and transparent on decision making?
Q & A : City Manager Candidate Kent A. Myers
LoJ Question:
4. How would you make your office accessible to the public and transparent on decision making?
Update: Jason @ Life Of Jason has added Larry Stevens answers to his email interview questions:
Q & A : City Manager Candidate Larry Stevens
LoJ Question:
4. How would you make your office accessible to the public and transparent on decision making?
Read more.
*"The author (Jason) gives permission for electronic, print or broadcast media to use information from any posting ONLY if a link to this blog site is provided and printed identification of the location of the information provided or the full web address of the site, www.lifeofjason.com, is mentioned as the source of the information."
Excerpts, spotlighting one of the questions he posed to the candidates, with links to the first two email interviews:
Q & A: City Manager Candidate Greg Burris
LoJ Question:
4. How would you make your office accessible to the public and transparent on decision making?
I believe in the chain of command. While I consider myself accessible to the University community in my current position, I try to direct complaints to the lowest level in the organization able to solve the problem. I can’t solve all of the University’s problems myself . . . and if selected to be the City Manager, I won’t be able to personally solve all of the City’s problems, either.
My operating style tends to be transparent in the delivery of the solution, but the staff needs to be able to collect data, evaluate options, and determine the best points along the way to collect public input. I’m a big proponent of citizen advisory groups. In effect, I believe most citizens want the City to run like an efficient service business, and a careful balance must be achieved between operating efficiently and having to explain everything you’re doing to someone looking over your shoulder.
In the spirit of openness and transparency, I invite anyone to contact members of the University that they know and ask them about me. Ask what type of City Manager I would make. Most members of the University community will have an opinion about me, whether positive or negative.*
Q & A : City Manager Candidate Kent A. Myers
LoJ Question:
4. How would you make your office accessible to the public and transparent on decision making?
First of all, I think that it is important that my office create an environment of full accessibility to the public and I want all citizens to feel welcome and comfortable contacting or visiting my office at any time. I have always tried to set a positive example for the entire city organization with regard to public accessibility. I practice an “open door” policy in dealing with the public. I make it a practice to respond to phone calls, e-mails and letters on a timely basis. In contacting my office, I want to hear citizen concerns and complaints but I also want to hear their ideas and suggestions on how the city can progress and do our jobs better.
I have found that the public often times does not want to stop by City Hall to voice their concerns or offer their input. Therefore, in order to be effective in dealing with the public and get them involved with their city government, I have to get out of my office on a regular basis. If I am hired for the City Manager position in Springfield, you will see me out in the community attending meetings and special events and getting involved in a number of civic and professional organizations. In Hot Springs, for example, I have used community coffees and brown bag lunches as efforts to reach out to the community. I want to stay in touch with the needs and interests of the community in any way that I can.
Finally, I commit to working with the Public Information Officer to communicate to the public about any important activity or project involving their city government. I currently utilize such things as monthly radio shows, bi-monthly cable television programs, quarterly citizen newsletter and other ways to get our message out and be as transparent as possible.*
Update: Jason @ Life Of Jason has added Larry Stevens answers to his email interview questions:
Q & A : City Manager Candidate Larry Stevens
LoJ Question:
4. How would you make your office accessible to the public and transparent on decision making?
Transparency and openess is an emphasis of our city government in Edmond. About five years I created a seperate small department to coordinate and enhance our communication with the citizens we exist to serve. Extensive communication in a variety of forms would be a priority.*
Read more.
*"The author (Jason) gives permission for electronic, print or broadcast media to use information from any posting ONLY if a link to this blog site is provided and printed identification of the location of the information provided or the full web address of the site, www.lifeofjason.com, is mentioned as the source of the information."
Friday, June 20, 2008
Council's Independent Internal Auditor; What's Happening?
A commentator on this post was asking me questions about the internal auditor position. I wrote an article about the Council's internal auditor for the January 16, 2008 issue of CFP that I would recommend for even more background on the position.
Following is the article I wrote concerning the difference between the city manager and the internal auditor search for the current issue of CFP (June 18, 2008). The story (re-formatted) ended up taking an odd turn, read for yourself. - Jackie
City Manager vs. Internal Auditor
By Jackie Melton
CFP Contributor
Springfield may have cut employees by attrition to help raise the $5.2 million needed to fund the police/fire actuarial recommendation, but there are at least two positions they will be looking to fill this year. Those positions, the city manager and the Council’s internal auditor, seem to be receiving very different levels of scrutiny.
While a 22-member city manager search committee attempts to find the new city manager, the search process for the internal auditor seems to have been relinquished to the city manager’s office and human resource department.
In January, Councilman Dan Chiles said he and Councilman Doug Burlison had informally discussed the possibility of forming an external citizen search committee, but that never happened.
“This position is being handled through our HR (human resource) department and will not be done by committee, except for possibly the final selection and evaluations,” City Clerk Brenda Cirtin wrote in an e-mail.
Burlison said it would be difficult for the all-volunteer Council to handle the search for applicants. He acknowledged he has some concerns about the Council’s dependence on the city manager’s office and human resource department in their search to find qualified applicants for the position. “My suspicion is the internal auditor is not something the city manager’s office wants,” he said.
Burlison noted he’s looking forward to having an auditor to assist the Council in overseeing city government. “This proposed position is, in fact, the key to any reforms that City Council may enact in response to the audit,” Burlison said in January.
Mayor Tom Carlson, in his state of the city report, didn’t seem to share Burlison’s view of the importance of hiring an auditor. “Primarily, they [state auditors] talked about an internal auditor, and we’re going to have one of those, and so, I hope everybody’s happy, but it’s not that big a deal,” Carlson said.
According to the audit report, an “internal auditor could have helped in discovering and resolving several of the areas commented on,” adding, the auditor would, “provide a means whereby the City Council can be made aware of current activities.”
At the June 2 City Council meeting, Burlison asked for an update on the internal auditor search.
“We made a few changes to the job description and expanded the advertisement that we had earlier put out,” interim City Manager Evelyn Honea responded.
Director of Human Resources, Sheila Maerz, acknowledged she had already received the job description changes, and Sharon Smith, Honea’s administrative assistant, acknowledged the city manager’s office had made them. “The city manager’s office made the changes, and Gary Deaver, chairman of the finance and administration committee, was in agreement of those changes,” Smith wrote in an e-mail.
One change contradicted Springfield’s city charter. Under the charter, the internal auditor “shall be a certified public accountant (CPA) or a person specially trained and experienced in governmental or business investigation or administration,” but the city manager office’s changes to the job description made CPA certification a requirement. “In addition, a CPA certification is required along with….” reads one change. Another reads, “Licensed CPA certification is required.”
City Attorney Dan Wichmer was unaware of the changes, because they were not posted in the job description on the city’s Web site; he suggested they might be a draft, then an old copy, then a draft. “She (Honea) said the comments that Council had been making were that they probably would not consider anybody other than a CPA,” Wichmer said, after talking to Honea, “but the requirements are set by charter. They (Council) are free to screen higher than that, but, as far as the actual job description, it needs to say what the charter says.”
Burlison was surprised to hear of the changes. “That’s news to me, unless I’m forgetting a meeting. The change that I thought had been discussed with us in the committee, if not with the Council as a whole, was to not require the internal auditor be a CPA, so we could cast a wider net,” he said.
Wichmer said the Council would discuss it at the luncheon on June 10. The issue was not specifically mentioned on the city’s published agenda for that luncheon meeting and was not brought up by any person who attended the meeting.
Advertisements for the position, listing CPA certification as a requirement, have been sent or posted to several professional journals and publications.
Internal Auditor Job Description Changes Approved June 12
> By unanimous verbal vote, the City Council’s Finance and Administration Committee approved changes made to the Council’s internal auditor job description on June 12, 2008.
> Certified Public Accountant requirements have been removed from the changed job description.
> The Finance and Administration Committee is the body who will work most directly with an internal auditor once hired.
> Members of the Council’s Committee are: Mayor Pro Tem Gary Deaver, Councilman Ralph Manley, Councilman Denny Whayne and Councilman Doug Burlison.
Go to www.cfpmidweek.com to view the original Council approved job description, circulated changes, and final approved changes, along with the advertisement as published and posted by the city of Springfield.
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There is more information available at Community Free Press - Midweek, including an update on the city manager search and the internal auditor application process.
-------
Also, available at CFP, click on the "On-line Supplements to Print Edition," (link found under the cover shot of the current issue) to find:
The Answer to: Who Recommended the Changes?
A Link to the City Manager Search Video
The Four Sub-Committees of the City Manager Search Committee
Following is the article I wrote concerning the difference between the city manager and the internal auditor search for the current issue of CFP (June 18, 2008). The story (re-formatted) ended up taking an odd turn, read for yourself. - Jackie
City Manager vs. Internal Auditor
By Jackie Melton
CFP Contributor
Springfield may have cut employees by attrition to help raise the $5.2 million needed to fund the police/fire actuarial recommendation, but there are at least two positions they will be looking to fill this year. Those positions, the city manager and the Council’s internal auditor, seem to be receiving very different levels of scrutiny.
While a 22-member city manager search committee attempts to find the new city manager, the search process for the internal auditor seems to have been relinquished to the city manager’s office and human resource department.
In January, Councilman Dan Chiles said he and Councilman Doug Burlison had informally discussed the possibility of forming an external citizen search committee, but that never happened.
“This position is being handled through our HR (human resource) department and will not be done by committee, except for possibly the final selection and evaluations,” City Clerk Brenda Cirtin wrote in an e-mail.
Burlison said it would be difficult for the all-volunteer Council to handle the search for applicants. He acknowledged he has some concerns about the Council’s dependence on the city manager’s office and human resource department in their search to find qualified applicants for the position. “My suspicion is the internal auditor is not something the city manager’s office wants,” he said.
Burlison noted he’s looking forward to having an auditor to assist the Council in overseeing city government. “This proposed position is, in fact, the key to any reforms that City Council may enact in response to the audit,” Burlison said in January.
Mayor Tom Carlson, in his state of the city report, didn’t seem to share Burlison’s view of the importance of hiring an auditor. “Primarily, they [state auditors] talked about an internal auditor, and we’re going to have one of those, and so, I hope everybody’s happy, but it’s not that big a deal,” Carlson said.
According to the audit report, an “internal auditor could have helped in discovering and resolving several of the areas commented on,” adding, the auditor would, “provide a means whereby the City Council can be made aware of current activities.”
At the June 2 City Council meeting, Burlison asked for an update on the internal auditor search.
“We made a few changes to the job description and expanded the advertisement that we had earlier put out,” interim City Manager Evelyn Honea responded.
Director of Human Resources, Sheila Maerz, acknowledged she had already received the job description changes, and Sharon Smith, Honea’s administrative assistant, acknowledged the city manager’s office had made them. “The city manager’s office made the changes, and Gary Deaver, chairman of the finance and administration committee, was in agreement of those changes,” Smith wrote in an e-mail.
One change contradicted Springfield’s city charter. Under the charter, the internal auditor “shall be a certified public accountant (CPA) or a person specially trained and experienced in governmental or business investigation or administration,” but the city manager office’s changes to the job description made CPA certification a requirement. “In addition, a CPA certification is required along with….” reads one change. Another reads, “Licensed CPA certification is required.”
City Attorney Dan Wichmer was unaware of the changes, because they were not posted in the job description on the city’s Web site; he suggested they might be a draft, then an old copy, then a draft. “She (Honea) said the comments that Council had been making were that they probably would not consider anybody other than a CPA,” Wichmer said, after talking to Honea, “but the requirements are set by charter. They (Council) are free to screen higher than that, but, as far as the actual job description, it needs to say what the charter says.”
Burlison was surprised to hear of the changes. “That’s news to me, unless I’m forgetting a meeting. The change that I thought had been discussed with us in the committee, if not with the Council as a whole, was to not require the internal auditor be a CPA, so we could cast a wider net,” he said.
Wichmer said the Council would discuss it at the luncheon on June 10. The issue was not specifically mentioned on the city’s published agenda for that luncheon meeting and was not brought up by any person who attended the meeting.
Advertisements for the position, listing CPA certification as a requirement, have been sent or posted to several professional journals and publications.
Internal Auditor Job Description Changes Approved June 12
> By unanimous verbal vote, the City Council’s Finance and Administration Committee approved changes made to the Council’s internal auditor job description on June 12, 2008.
> Certified Public Accountant requirements have been removed from the changed job description.
> The Finance and Administration Committee is the body who will work most directly with an internal auditor once hired.
> Members of the Council’s Committee are: Mayor Pro Tem Gary Deaver, Councilman Ralph Manley, Councilman Denny Whayne and Councilman Doug Burlison.
Go to www.cfpmidweek.com to view the original Council approved job description, circulated changes, and final approved changes, along with the advertisement as published and posted by the city of Springfield.
-------
There is more information available at Community Free Press - Midweek, including an update on the city manager search and the internal auditor application process.
-------
Also, available at CFP, click on the "On-line Supplements to Print Edition," (link found under the cover shot of the current issue) to find:
The Answer to: Who Recommended the Changes?
A Link to the City Manager Search Video
The Four Sub-Committees of the City Manager Search Committee
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