One of the main functions of city council is to appoint a city manager (city charter - Article II, Sec 2.08). It has been nearly a year since former city manager Matt Greeson resigned to take a manager position elsewhere and council has still not fulfilled its duty.
The good news is our current city staff - administration and department heads - are experienced and can run the city smoothly without much oversight. However, in a city-manager form of government like Worthington, it is important to have a manager who can cultivate good internal culture and provide a high-level of customer service to residents.
Since hiring a city manager impacts the city operations greatly, council members decided early in the hiring process that all seven council members needed to be involved in discussions, interviews, and decisions.
After hiring an excellent executive search firm to find six qualified city manager candidates to interview, council narrowed it down to two finalists in September. Those two interviewed with community stakeholders and staff in October.
At the final council meeting in October all seven members went into executive session to have in-depth discussions. When adjourning out of executive session, only four council members remained. Council members Beth Kowalcyz, Katy Brewer and Bonnie Michael did not return to the meeting.
This highly unusual twist of events has now created confusion and delay in the hiring process with unknown timelines and outcomes.
We had a job to do, and we didn’t do it.
Read additional information on a recent Spotlight article: https://www.worthingtonspotlight.com/articles/consultant-city-manager-search-continues/
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