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What do you think the toughest single issue will be for your community during your term and how would you address it?

Selecting the next City Manager and negotiating their contract is the single most difficult and important task the new council will face.  The City Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city and as such is critical to the City’s successes.  The lack of a permanent City Manager places numerous handicaps on an already difficult process of providing services.  External agencies, as well as internal staff, tend move tepidly as already tenuous negotiations and projects struggle to move forward.  No matter how good an interim manager may be, unless they have the unreserved commitment from the Council in the form of a permanent placement, the efficiency of government will suffer.

I would address the issue of hiring a new manager by being open and cooperative throughout the process.  Though appointed, a municipality’s manager is often affected by public opinion (albeit sometimes vicariously through elected officials applying political pressure they are receiving themselves).  So it’s only natural that the public is involved throughout the process.  They need to know why decisions are being made if they are expected to understand and support future efforts undertaken by the manager.  Similarly, the selection process requires cohesion amongst the council members.  A dialogue needs to take place so that all council members can agree on a manager who can work with all present and future council members.  Of course there would also need to be a balance with the interests of the prospective managers.  Those applying for the position would likely want some anonymity to protect their current position and they would want a contract that would assure them that they would not be suddenly or serruptiously replaced.

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