Bain-Blog

Friday, May 16, 2008

City Manager Candidates

As most people know by now, the six finalists for the city manager position have been announced. They are:

Kevin M. Brunner, City Manager, Whitewater, WI
Lawrence M. Delo, City Administrator, DePere, WI
Bret A. Jones, City Administrator, Gillette, WY
Jeffrey B. Muzzy, Advisor/Consultant, International City/County Management Association
Gary G. Rogers, Jr., City Administrator, Waupun, WI
Mark A. Rohloff, Town Administrator, Grand Chute, WI

Mayor Frank Tower has indicated that a new manager could be hired as early as July. However, the council will meet at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20th at City Hall to discuss first how to proceed with the search process. I am interested in hearing your thoughts on how you would like to see us move forward. Feel free to share your comments here and/or contact the members of the council.

-Bryan

Labels: , , , , , ,

posted by Bryan L. Bain at 5/16/2008 10:07:00 AM

8 Comments:

  • You hired PAR to get the applications and resumes. Why not proceed with their recommendation?
    Isn't that why we are paying PAR? To search and find the best candidate possible?
    Who do they think is the Best candidate for the Job.

    It appears this council is unable/unwilling to fulfill their duties as delegated to them
    by an election. Every time there is a major decision to be made you plan a forum.
    Forums /discussion groups/ citizen input are great but then the council ignores the citizenry and "does their own thing"
    Councilors are elected to make the decisions that are best for the City of Oshkosh.
    You didn't ask our opinions when you fired Mr. Wollangk. You ignored our input with hiring a search firm.
    Why ask our opinion now when it is highly unlikely we will get a majority to agree.

    Better yet ask the Chamber.. they seem to be running the city by using the councilors
    as their puppets.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at May 19, 2008 12:51 PM  

  • The three candidates that reaaly stand out are the one from DePere, Little Chute and Lebanon.

    By Blogger CJ, at May 20, 2008 11:19 AM  

  • Anon. 5/19: Excellent post! The 4 solid Chamber Council members will be making the final decision; 4 vs. 3, possibly another. Read the Northwestern's editorial today a it does seem on the mark where the Chamber is concerned but like it or not, I have a strong feeling the fab 4 will go along with this. Also take note of the opinion poll.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at May 21, 2008 9:38 AM  

  • Anonymous said:
    "It appears this council is unable/unwilling to fulfill their duties as delegated to them
    by an election."

    I respectfully disagree. I do not see how involving citizens in the process makes us unwilling to fulfill our duties. In fact, part of our job is to solicit input and feedback. And while we may come to a different conclusion, that does not mean your input was ignored.


    CJ said:
    "The three candidates that reaaly stand out are the one from DePere, Little Chute and Lebanon."

    Thank you, CJ, for the feedback.


    Anonymous said:
    "The 4 solid Chamber Council members will be making the final decision..."

    All seven council members will be involved in the final decision. In fact, we worked really well together in identifying the six finalists, and I do not have any reason to believe things will be different with the final decision.

    By Blogger Bryan L. Bain, at May 21, 2008 6:03 PM  

  • What is the point of having a "meet and greet" for all six candidates?
    There is no opportunity for feedback, and the only one that is really going to matter is the one selected for the city manager position.
    This is a real waste of time for those candidates. Remember all 6 are already employed and 5 will have to try to remain employed after June 7.
    These candidates are going to be laughing at these councilors.
    Than again, it will provide the applicants the opportunity to observe just who they will have to lead by the hand as part of the new job as City manager.

    If the POINT is to throw us a crumb, so the City Council can say, “See, we listened to you, Oshkosh. “
    Thank you all for your input, and now, we'll do exactly what we want.
    Hate to be so cynical, but it's posturing by the council, and a learning curve for the applicants.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at May 22, 2008 8:48 AM  

  • When have all 7 of the councilors
    agreed on anything except for the Chamber building buy out last year?

    We need a complete confidence vote for a new manager.
    Complete agreement 7/0!
    A split vote 4/3 relates to a split council and a divided city.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at May 22, 2008 8:54 AM  

  • Anonymous said:
    "What is the point of having a "meet and greet" for all six candidates? There is no opportunity for feedback, and the only one that is really going to matter is the one selected for the city manager position."

    I encourage you to read the interview schedule, which I have provided a link to in my most recent post. You will see that citizens not only have a chance to meet and greet, but also listen to the candidates respond to questions, ask questions of the candidates and provide feedback directly to the council.


    Anonymous said:
    "We need a complete confidence vote for a new manager. Complete agreement 7/0!"

    I agree. The council needs to discuss the finalists openly and freely during our closed sessions, however, once a final candidate has been identified, we must speak in a unified voice.

    -Bryan

    By Blogger Bryan L. Bain, at May 22, 2008 9:13 AM  

  • I think one poster hs it right...

    the Council can say, “See, we listened to you, Oshkosh. “
    Thank you all for your input, and now, we'll do exactly what we want.
    cynical? no Honest? yes,
    it's posturing by the council.
    Did they listen to
    Saw-Dust neighbors??
    Rivermill residents??
    Rehab Center neighbors??
    Thank you all for your input, and now, we'll do exactly what we want.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at May 22, 2008 1:01 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home