MONROE - Members of the Salary and Personnel Committee will be taking slow and cautious steps to hire the next city administrator.
And Mayor Ron Marsh says city leaders should use the time in between to reassess city government structure.
Monroe aldermen May 13 voted 8-2 to end City Administrator Mark Vahlsing's employment after two years for failure to perform some of his duties as the city's human resources director.
Vahlsing also is the subject of a discrimination complaint by a former employee against the City of Monroe.
The committee on Tuesday voted unaninmously to have City Clerk Carol Stamm inquire about fees to have Denise Frueh of Public Administration Associates meet with city leaders and advise them on what type of candidate they would need for the administrator position.
The city used Public Administration Associates as the hiring firm when Vahlsing came the city's first administrator.
But committee members did not want a meeting set up anytime soon.
"Let's just go slow," Alderman Dan Henke said. "We don't have to have her down now. We're still paying an administrator until October, so we have a bill now anyway.
"We don't need to have a double bill, until we take the steps we're going to take in the right direction ... so let's just take our time."
Marsh said the committee needs to think about moving the city into the 21st century.
"I suggest, don't be in a hurry to replace the administrator tomorrow," Marsh said. "Take a fresh approach, a fresh look."
Marsh said the committee should determine what the city's strengths and needs are and which department heads to utilize.
Department heads, City Council members and Marsh have assumed the workload once done by Vahlsing. Human resources functions will be shared by department heads, council members and Marsh, the mayor said, "depending on what arises."
Marsh suggested the committee decide whether the city needs a part-time mayor, a business administrator with strengths in marketing, human resources or economic development, or both.
"Right now is a good time for the City Council to determine what route they want to go," Marsh said. "It could come down to, does the city still need a mayor, does it not need a mayor?"
Marsh also said the city should consider all options, including having a city manager, or a business manager, or an administrator with a part-time mayor - as it currently does.
"We've got the time, we've got the people in house that can do the job, so we don't need to rush into something," Marsh said.
"Now is a good time to look" at what the city will need "not next year, but five years from now. If we do this right, we won't have to go through what we just went through," he said.
The fee for Frueh's service will be considered at a meeting June 17.
- Times News Editor Jim Winter contributed to this story.
And Mayor Ron Marsh says city leaders should use the time in between to reassess city government structure.
Monroe aldermen May 13 voted 8-2 to end City Administrator Mark Vahlsing's employment after two years for failure to perform some of his duties as the city's human resources director.
Vahlsing also is the subject of a discrimination complaint by a former employee against the City of Monroe.
The committee on Tuesday voted unaninmously to have City Clerk Carol Stamm inquire about fees to have Denise Frueh of Public Administration Associates meet with city leaders and advise them on what type of candidate they would need for the administrator position.
The city used Public Administration Associates as the hiring firm when Vahlsing came the city's first administrator.
But committee members did not want a meeting set up anytime soon.
"Let's just go slow," Alderman Dan Henke said. "We don't have to have her down now. We're still paying an administrator until October, so we have a bill now anyway.
"We don't need to have a double bill, until we take the steps we're going to take in the right direction ... so let's just take our time."
Marsh said the committee needs to think about moving the city into the 21st century.
"I suggest, don't be in a hurry to replace the administrator tomorrow," Marsh said. "Take a fresh approach, a fresh look."
Marsh said the committee should determine what the city's strengths and needs are and which department heads to utilize.
Department heads, City Council members and Marsh have assumed the workload once done by Vahlsing. Human resources functions will be shared by department heads, council members and Marsh, the mayor said, "depending on what arises."
Marsh suggested the committee decide whether the city needs a part-time mayor, a business administrator with strengths in marketing, human resources or economic development, or both.
"Right now is a good time for the City Council to determine what route they want to go," Marsh said. "It could come down to, does the city still need a mayor, does it not need a mayor?"
Marsh also said the city should consider all options, including having a city manager, or a business manager, or an administrator with a part-time mayor - as it currently does.
"We've got the time, we've got the people in house that can do the job, so we don't need to rush into something," Marsh said.
"Now is a good time to look" at what the city will need "not next year, but five years from now. If we do this right, we won't have to go through what we just went through," he said.
The fee for Frueh's service will be considered at a meeting June 17.
- Times News Editor Jim Winter contributed to this story.