With all due respect, regardless of what you think of City Council's decision not to renew the Manager' contract, the process for recruiting a replacement has progressed at an appropriate pace and in fact is far ahead of the other local city now seeking a manager.
Shortly after the Council decision, based on discussions with the other four lawmakers I proposed the hiring of John Krol to conduct a process. In politics, you have to propose something you can get passed. This measure passed 3-2.
He quickly devised a job description based on the input of a variety of people in City government and then placed ads in appropriate venues including at my suggestion both the on-line services of Newzjunky and the WDT. He also has been talking to other managers to get the word out.
The deadline for submissions is this Friday, and Council will then have to bear down and review the applications and winnow the field before conducting extensive background checks and interviews.
In the meantime, I have worked with the Council on an interim solution and am confident the current team of department heads will keep operations on track as well.
Under the City Charter, the Council is responsible for hiring a manager and a clerk.
It is not something that comes up often, but last year the Council stayed on track and methodically chose a new City Clerk, who has worked out very well.
The manager's job is to be that traffic cop who keeps the moving parts of government moving smoothly and efficiently. Bringing an elected board to consensus on a candidate must be done with deliberate speed and careful consideration.
There was in January disagreement over whether a change was needed, but since that point I have sought to see all parties have worked towards transition at as quick a pace as is prudent and practical.
Watertown Daily Times | A transition
7 comments:
That editorial almost looks like someone trolling with comments on an internet blog. Most of what is said in it is patently false. One would think deliberately false for the purpose of provoking and annoying you.
The public should not have input. And by public they mean the editor of the WDT's.
Much has been done about the position and at a much faster rate then other cities and other times in Watertown's past.
You have been very public with the entire process and status.
You should have just responded by blogging that you have hired Sciorra to fill in for now. Trolling deserves trolling a response.
Maybe they are having a hissy fit because you only put this information out in your blog? Well they could have asked using one of those old fashioned things they call "reporters" if they didn't want to use your blog for the source. Or they could have asked Timothy W. Scee
Mayor. we pay you to get all this done. do your job.
Slow news days for editorial writers fosters stupidity apparently. The Council is doing what it is charged with doing and doing it carefully. The WDT has to throw bait out and find out where the fish are. Unbelieveably there are some that still put stock in what they write on their editorial page. Forge ahead, City Council...it's your call.
Mayor I know your pay wouldn't cover your cell phone bill much less the aggravation you get. I know you do your job for the love of the city and its find people. You have done the best job at finding a replacement ever witnessed by the city or any other city in our area. Keep up the good work.
I so agree Tim. The public involved in hiring an interim, are they joking? Come on now it was all BS
Why shouldn't the public have input into the hiring of the person the taxpayers pay to run the city as the chief executive? The people of this city pay their taxes and they absolutely deserve to have be have input into the process.
Claiming that the public has no right to know the process, to know how the long the interim will serve, to know the qualifications and expectations of the interim is obnoxious. Of course they should know, they are paying for that right through taxes.
It is especially important with the upcoming transition in the police department and the city budget.
It is one thing to give the finger to the Times but it is another to have the arrogance to tell the tax payer to shut up and take what ever the council decides. That is outrageous.
The public has input by voting for or running for city council. Only an idiot would suggest anymore input than that. The mayor is large and in charge.
The Mayor has been very public with the processes and status of the process.
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