Interim City Manager

After a closed session meeting Tuesday morning, a decision was made to move forward with an interim city manager search, and five finalists were announced. At that time, Councilors Esslinger, McHugh and Palmeri and Mayor F. Tower decided to proceed with the search for an interim city manager, while Councilor King, Deputy Mayor B. Tower and I wanted to end the interim search and move forward with something different.

The concept the three of us argued for, albeit unsuccessfully, was for the council to hold community meetings between now and January 17th - the date a citizen-led petition drive is due - to discuss what the community wanted to see in and expect of its next leader (a discussion like this would benefit the city regardless of its form of government).

Yesterday, Mayor F. Tower announced he would call a special meeting of the council to discuss ending the interim search and moving forward with a plan similar to what Councilor King, Deputy Mayor B. Tower and I advocated for the day before. I was pleased to learn that the mayor had changed his mind, however, frustrated it came after finalists were named and the decision to move forward with the interim search process.

Fast forward to today's special meeting. The council decided, on a 4-2 vote, to end the interim search and proceed with a search for a permanent city manager with the following provisions: to not start the search until after January 17th, and if a citizen-led referendum is submitted by the 17th, to not start the search until after the April 2008 spring elections. I joined Councilor King, Deputy Mayor B. Tower and Mayor F. Tower to support the above plan, while Councilors Esslinger and McHugh voted against it. Councilor Palmeri was unable to attend due to a teaching commitment, however, provided remarks on his blog.

Again, I am frustrated with the fact that we even needed to have a special meeting. I do, however, give credit to the mayor for taking responsibility for his change of mind and recognizing the position his change has put the city, us as council members and the five finalists in.

Finally, I have noticed for next Tuesday's meeting a discussion to take place during "Council Member Statements" regarding the council holding future community meetings for citizens to express to us what they want to see in and expect of their next leader. It is important for us as a council to provide an opportunity for the community to begin discussions about our next leader, regardless if he or she is a city manager or directly-elected mayor.

-Bryan