Belleville council holds workshop on what to do about city manager post

Belleville mayor Ken Voigt said the 90-minute city council workshop on Jan. 22 was just to discuss how to fill the vacant city manager post and not to make any decisions.
But, after much discussion on the lofty goals for a city manager, at the end of the meeting the council informally approved having the mayor propose some recruitment firms to help it find the right candidate.
At the beginning of the workshop, retired city police officer Bart DeVos said the Belleville position is a stepping stone for someone who wants a bigger position and the city should hire someone local.
Huron Clinton Metropark Police Lt. Jim Cayce, who lives in Belleville, said he agrees with DeVos that the city manager should be a local person.
Takisha Henry, who works at city hall in accounts payable and taxes, said when a DPW employee quit, the interim city manager worked on the water main being repaired. “What else does he need to do?” she asked.
They all were referring to interim city manager Steve Jones, who lives in the city. Jones was not present at the meeting.
But, Voigt said this discussion was not about individuals, but about what qualities the council wanted in a city manager. Once that is decided, they could look at who they want, he said.
He said the city charter is the city’s guiding document and he read the training required as “He shall be selected solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to his training and actual experience in municipal administration.”
Voigt apologized for the “he” used in the wording, saying that it hasn’t been updated.
He said since state law changed, the city manager no longer has to live in the city, as the charter requires.
Mayor Voigt said he invited Belleville property owner Phil Miller to come to the workshop since he has the training and experience for a city manager, but is not interested in this Belleville post.
Miller said he has an undergraduate degree in public administration and political science, with classes in economics, human resources, and history. He holds a master’s degree in administration.
Miller said they could look at someone with an IO (industrial and organizational) psychology degree, which would have skills on how to squeeze a lot of work out of few people, like the person would have to do in Belleville.
He said councils often allow departments to make their own policies. He said the council should make the policies and the department heads put them into practice.
Miller said the candidates should be informed of the demographics and challenges of the position and have blunt discussions. Candidates don’t have insight in the local issues.
Lt. Cayce said perhaps they should have two interviews with candidates, with one being with department heads.
City clerk/treasurer Briana Papin said she has been employed by Belleville for nine years in August and over that time there has been six city managers. She said employees want to have input on the questions the candidates will be asked.
Voigt had been writing what council members called out as what they wanted in a city manager on big post-it notes stuck on the wall. Councilwoman Julie Kissel wrote “Staff Ideas List” on a big post-it and carried it back into the city offices to post.
Miller said at one interview process he went through there were two sessions, with different staff members. Then he had to attend a city party to see if he fit in. He suggested Belleville could have a meet and greet session to get to know members of the community.
Mayor Voigt said there are a number of different recruitment firms and costs range from $7,000 to $14,000 for communities the size of Belleville, “If that is the route we want to go and I firmly believe it is.”
Voigt continued, “This is not a process I want to rush, but I don’t want to drag it, either.” He said a firm would help with the details of a search.
He suggested they interview firms during the second meeting in February. Voigt said he would vet the firms before inviting them to apply and they could give the city guidance on salary.
Miller said, “Belleville is notoriously low in city manager pay. It’s a donut hole in a larger community” and it has the schools, library, museum, and other things inside it for the greater whole. “You’re punching way above your weight. I would never apply here — not enough money.”
He suggested they put together a special contract concerning time “to stop the revolving door.”
He said the council wants someone with the skills of a mid-career candidate, but those candidates are looking for larger towns.
Mayor Voigt said maybe they could get a city manager in four to five months. He said they hurried last time and were “trying to do it on the cheap.”
DPW director Nathan Johnson said, “You need to tell the person all the plates they need to handle. So it’s not a jack in the box job.” He referred to the surprises he found in his new job.
A man in the audience pointed out that if the expenditure is more than $10,000, they have to go out for bids.
Clerk Papin said they also need to do better background checks.
“This has to be better than anything done in the past,” councilwoman Kissel said of what they were doing.
“Any group is a work in progress,” added mayor pro-tem Kelly Bates.
Miller said they might want to look into job sharing, where they take a successful city manager in another community and use that person with an appointed deputy to make it work.
Bates said the city wants its own city manager.