Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,June 03, 2013 <br /> Page 36 <br /> community itself. Councilmember Etten stated that he would be in favor of keep- <br /> ing some sort of application process for anyone to apply. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte stated that this was a great opportunity for the City; and <br /> she didn't want to limit the breadth of candidates and potential new thinking and <br /> new ideas coming in externally. Councilmember Laliberte opined that she felt no <br /> need to rush the process, and would need to understand the rationale better to <br /> short-cut the process or select someone internally versus receiving adequate in- <br /> formation as to what was available externally, without unduly stretching the pro- <br /> cess out too long. <br /> Councilmember Willmus stated that his rationale included the economy and ex- <br /> pense concerns with an external search; as well as providing an opportunity for <br /> those currently within the organization to move up in the chain of command. <br /> Councilmember Willmus opined that the City had a number of very highly talent- <br /> ed people who already knew the organization inside and out, and better than any <br /> external candidates. If the City Council was willing to look at only internal can- <br /> didates, Councilmember Willmus opined that it could save considerable time and <br /> expense; however, he also recognized those perspectives expressed by Coun- <br /> cilmembers Etten and Laliberte. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte spoke in support of keeping expenses down. <br /> Councilmember McGehee stated that she concurred with Councilmembers <br /> Laliberte and Etten; and suggested expenses could be reduced by the City Council <br /> doing some of the work, rather than depending entirely on consultants to ask <br /> questions and schedule interviews. Councilmember McGehee suggested other <br /> cost savings could be found in not advertising extensively and not paying moving <br /> expenses for a new hire, and volunteered to work on the process. On the other <br /> hand, Councilmember McGehee agreed that this provided an opportunity for one <br /> of the many talented people in the organization and those things having been <br /> identified for a long time and needing to be changed, but questioned if major <br /> changes may be more difficult for an internal candidate to make based on their in- <br /> ternal knowledge of the organization and relationship with fellow employees that <br /> had been formed. <br /> Mayor Roe opined that there was some benefit to looking outside the immediate <br /> organization, and suggested a wider process. Mayor Roe questioned if the cost <br /> outlined by Ms. Bacon was prohibitive, and suggested that it could be refined <br /> based on the scope of the work. Mayor Roe expressed concern with individual <br /> Councilmembers taking on more of the administrative role in the search process, <br /> noting that they had a different role in the process, and further involvement could <br /> create a perception of or actual problems in over-involvement in the process itself. <br /> In using the assistance of a consultant, Mayor Roe further opined that this would <br /> alleviate some of the responsibility for Ms. Bacon, recognizing that she had been <br />