Mayor Ron Marsh's "survey" of Monroe aldermen and city department heads regarding the city administrator search raises questions.
Marsh, during Tuesday's meeting of the Monroe City Council, shared the results of this so-called survey - which he said suggests the council is looking for an administrator with primary strengths in marketing and leadership and secondary skills in human resources and decision-making.
This survey, which Marsh conducted on his own, asked aldermen and department heads questions about the position's job description and about the characteristics they'd like to see from the next administrator. The job search was necessitated by the council's dismissal last month of Mark Vahlsing for the stated reason of his failure to perform the job's human resources responsibilities.
The first and foremost question raised by this survey is, why was it conducted by the mayor outside of public meetings?
The City Council is the elected body responsible for hiring, supervising and evaluating the administrator. Its members decide what the position's job description is - first setting it, then amending it as appropriate. Because aldermen have this responsibility, their deliberations about it should occur in public meetings. This gives members of the public insight into the decision-making process and an opportunity to provide input.
This survey should not replace any public discussion aldermen must have about the expectations they would have of the city's next administrator. Given that, it brings into question the purpose of taking such a survey - especially before a decision is made on a consulting firm to conduct a search.
And why is it being conducted by the mayor? The council supervises the administrator, not the mayor. While the mayor deserves input, the council should lead the search. It's time aldermen take charge of the process.
Finally, the results - thin as they are - bring into question the direction the city may be headed with the administrator position. If the most important tasks in the job description end up being marketing and human resources, the city will not have an administrator worth the salary it pays. If Monroe is to have an administrator, that person should lead the daily operations of city government, running it efficiently and effectively like a business. Hopefully that is the decision aldermen reach, after public discussion, of course.
Marsh, during Tuesday's meeting of the Monroe City Council, shared the results of this so-called survey - which he said suggests the council is looking for an administrator with primary strengths in marketing and leadership and secondary skills in human resources and decision-making.
This survey, which Marsh conducted on his own, asked aldermen and department heads questions about the position's job description and about the characteristics they'd like to see from the next administrator. The job search was necessitated by the council's dismissal last month of Mark Vahlsing for the stated reason of his failure to perform the job's human resources responsibilities.
The first and foremost question raised by this survey is, why was it conducted by the mayor outside of public meetings?
The City Council is the elected body responsible for hiring, supervising and evaluating the administrator. Its members decide what the position's job description is - first setting it, then amending it as appropriate. Because aldermen have this responsibility, their deliberations about it should occur in public meetings. This gives members of the public insight into the decision-making process and an opportunity to provide input.
This survey should not replace any public discussion aldermen must have about the expectations they would have of the city's next administrator. Given that, it brings into question the purpose of taking such a survey - especially before a decision is made on a consulting firm to conduct a search.
And why is it being conducted by the mayor? The council supervises the administrator, not the mayor. While the mayor deserves input, the council should lead the search. It's time aldermen take charge of the process.
Finally, the results - thin as they are - bring into question the direction the city may be headed with the administrator position. If the most important tasks in the job description end up being marketing and human resources, the city will not have an administrator worth the salary it pays. If Monroe is to have an administrator, that person should lead the daily operations of city government, running it efficiently and effectively like a business. Hopefully that is the decision aldermen reach, after public discussion, of course.
