MONROE - Common Council members are split over using the same executive search firm it used to find the city's first administrator, Mark Vahlsing, four years ago.
The council voted 7-3 Monday night to hire Public Administration Associates LLC of Oshkosh to find the city's second administrator. Thurston Hanson, Mike Rivers and Michael Boyce voted against the motion made by Paul Hannes to hire the firm.
Hanson and Rivers said they oppose hiring an administrator at this time because the city is in a difficult economic time.
But Hanson, Rivers and Boyce also voted against hiring the company specifically because it is the same firm the city used to hire former city administrator Vahlsing in April 2006. Alderman terminated Vahlsing May 13, 2008, saying he wasn't fulfilling some of his duties, particularly in human resources.
Rivers and Boyce were elected in April and were not on the council at the time.
"I want to stress this is the same firm that got us Mark Vahlsing," Hanson said Monday after the meeting. "If they are that good, how did Mark Vahlsing slip through the cracks?"
Rivers said the city is repeating its past mistake.
"If you go down the same path, you have the same outcome," Rivers said.
Rivers would have preferred to hire Novak Consulting Group, which he said "has a higher level of professionalism, would have gotten the job done in a timely fashion and would have saved the city more money."
Hanson believes the city "should eliminate or combine some key (city) positions to find money for an administrator."
"Right now, I do not believe we have the money to hire an administrator," he said.
But having aldermen and the mayor fulfilling the duties of an administrator is difficult, said Bill Ross, Monroe mayor.
"The department heads are definitely looking to council for leadership to find an administrator, someone to be the leader, the go-to guy for day-to-day concerns," Ross said. "The value in that is not only the money we could save, but also in morale; in keeping the ship in the right direction and everybody on the same page."
Ross said the city will try to get the hiring process started immediately and get an administrator by October.
The council will begin "tweaking" the job description for the city administrator position, according to Ross, and the hiring firm will assist if needed.
Prior to the vote, council members met for 30 minutes in closed session to discuss three hiring firms that submitted proposals.
Public Administration Associates proposed a 16-week hiring process and would charge about $8,800. Advertising costs are extra. The Novak Consulting Group expected 18 to 20 weeks to hire someone and would charge about $9,000, which included an unspecified amount for advertising. RW Management asked for $11,650, which includes $750 for advertising in publications and on websites. Candidate travel costs were extra for all firms.
Council members tried unsuccessfully to hire a city administrator last year without using a search firm.
Hanson said the problem was that while council members were trying to save money, "a lot of them (aldermen) had their mind set as to who that candidate should be."
Council members had changed the job description from a city administrator to a city administrator with legal duties. Six candidates initially applied.
The process ended Dec. 4 in a 6-4 council vote not to hire the final candidate, City Attorney Rex Ewald. Ewald was retained as city attorney.
The job description for the next administrator will not include legal duties.
The council voted 7-3 Monday night to hire Public Administration Associates LLC of Oshkosh to find the city's second administrator. Thurston Hanson, Mike Rivers and Michael Boyce voted against the motion made by Paul Hannes to hire the firm.
Hanson and Rivers said they oppose hiring an administrator at this time because the city is in a difficult economic time.
But Hanson, Rivers and Boyce also voted against hiring the company specifically because it is the same firm the city used to hire former city administrator Vahlsing in April 2006. Alderman terminated Vahlsing May 13, 2008, saying he wasn't fulfilling some of his duties, particularly in human resources.
Rivers and Boyce were elected in April and were not on the council at the time.
"I want to stress this is the same firm that got us Mark Vahlsing," Hanson said Monday after the meeting. "If they are that good, how did Mark Vahlsing slip through the cracks?"
Rivers said the city is repeating its past mistake.
"If you go down the same path, you have the same outcome," Rivers said.
Rivers would have preferred to hire Novak Consulting Group, which he said "has a higher level of professionalism, would have gotten the job done in a timely fashion and would have saved the city more money."
Hanson believes the city "should eliminate or combine some key (city) positions to find money for an administrator."
"Right now, I do not believe we have the money to hire an administrator," he said.
But having aldermen and the mayor fulfilling the duties of an administrator is difficult, said Bill Ross, Monroe mayor.
"The department heads are definitely looking to council for leadership to find an administrator, someone to be the leader, the go-to guy for day-to-day concerns," Ross said. "The value in that is not only the money we could save, but also in morale; in keeping the ship in the right direction and everybody on the same page."
Ross said the city will try to get the hiring process started immediately and get an administrator by October.
The council will begin "tweaking" the job description for the city administrator position, according to Ross, and the hiring firm will assist if needed.
Prior to the vote, council members met for 30 minutes in closed session to discuss three hiring firms that submitted proposals.
Public Administration Associates proposed a 16-week hiring process and would charge about $8,800. Advertising costs are extra. The Novak Consulting Group expected 18 to 20 weeks to hire someone and would charge about $9,000, which included an unspecified amount for advertising. RW Management asked for $11,650, which includes $750 for advertising in publications and on websites. Candidate travel costs were extra for all firms.
Council members tried unsuccessfully to hire a city administrator last year without using a search firm.
Hanson said the problem was that while council members were trying to save money, "a lot of them (aldermen) had their mind set as to who that candidate should be."
Council members had changed the job description from a city administrator to a city administrator with legal duties. Six candidates initially applied.
The process ended Dec. 4 in a 6-4 council vote not to hire the final candidate, City Attorney Rex Ewald. Ewald was retained as city attorney.
The job description for the next administrator will not include legal duties.