The Holbrook City Council passed a motion to put out a request for proposal (RFP) soliciting bids from recruitment agencies to aid in the hiring of a new city manager at the May 29 work session.
All members of the council were present and the first few minutes were spent reviewing the current city requirements for the manager position. Mayor Bobby Tyler commented, “The position description is pretty vague and I have asked the city clerk to get some descriptions for similar-sized cities that we can review as well.”
Councilman Tim Dixon said he had the information for Scottsdale’s requirements for their city manager available for immediate consideration. After the review of Scottsdale’s document, several council members mentioned that they liked the stipulation of 10 years of experience listed in the requirements, as well as ability to provide organizational leadership and strategic thinking.
Councilman C.J. Wischmann said, “For a person who is going to lead more than 50 employees, 10 years of experience, whether in government or private sector, is not hard to attain.” To which, Tyler added, “If we want to move this city in a positive direction, we need someone with experience.”
Councilwoman Francie Payne reminded the council of the salary requirements needed to match that level of experience, while Councilman Richard Peterson questioned the need for 10 years of experience.
Dixon said, “The prospective candidates will do as much research on us as we do on them. I think we will have a good pool to choose from whether the search is nationwide or just the Southwest.”
The motion passed required that the RFP be sent out on May 30 with the bidding process to close on June 12, and responses accepted no later than 5 p.m. on June 15. The council meeting on June 19 will have an agenda item for possible action on choosing a recruitment firm.
Once a firm is chosen, the council can then revise the list of requirements. Vice Mayor Wade Carlisle said, “The recruitment agency will help us to develop a job description with appropriate wages. They will send us applicants. It should be a faster process than we have used in the past.”
Carlisle went on to encourage the council, “Get the process started but don’t be afraid to start over and don’t be afraid to hire an interim or reject their applicants.”
A special council meeting was held June 5, for discussion and possible action on the recent resignation of Carlisle and the process to fill his position. A work session for discussion of the upcoming budget followed that meeting. Details from those meetings will be available in the June 13 edition of The Tribune-News.
