FeedsManager search contract concerns council members
It will cost Belleville about $7,000 and take more than two months for the Michigan Municipal League (MML) to find a new city manager.
That’s if city council members agree to hire the organization.
That concept took a step sideways Monday night when a motion to hire the firm failed for a lack of support.
Mayor Pro Tem Rick Dawson, who made the motion, said he was in favor of using the outside firm to help fill the position, which has been vacant for nearly a year now.
“We’ve gone to the well twice and we’ve come up with an empty bucket,” he said. “We need help.”
Councilman George Chedraue had problems with the proposed contract, however. It indicated that the city would have to pay the firm $6,850 for the search regardless of whether the city hired the candidate presented by the MML.
“We were told there would be no charge—zero—the only thing we’d have to pay for was the advertising,” Chedraue said.
Mayor Richard Smith said the contract was written differently, however.
“If they present a list of viable candidates and we choose not to hire anyone, they consider their commission earned,” he said.
The MML is an advocacy group that represents the interests of all different types of municipalities. One of the services they offer to members is an executive search to hire the best department heads or other municipal leaders. They typically charge 10 percent of the average salary range.
Diana Kollmeyer, the clerk, treasurer and acting city manager, said she met with representatives of the MML last week. They suggested a salary range between $65,000 and $72,000, which is how they arrived at the $6,850 figure. The city would also be responsible for about $700 in advertising costs and travel expenses for the search consultant, who is based in Monroe.
She was surprised that the vote for the contract could not find a second.
“We knew we were going to have costs here,” she said to the council. “Can I ask why?”
The council ultimately decided to bring in a representative from the MML for further clarification on their definition of a ‘viable candidate.’
They’ll meet at 7:30 on Monday at city hall.
The council has already outlined a timetable for the manager search. They’ll begin to advertise the post as soon as May 30 with a deadline for applicants of June 23. The MML will go through the applicants and come up with a short list for the council between June 23-30. The council will meet in a closed session at 6 p.m. on July 7 to select finalists, who will be brought in for public interviews.
The interviews are tentatively scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on July 19 and a decision on the manager could come either that day or at the next city council meeting.
