How should Watonga go about hiring a city manager? Do we even need one? What are our options and what do we need if we exercise one of those options?
Well, in this reporter’s opinion, yes, we need a leader at the helm. Every organization, unless there are clear and definite divisions of work and authority, needs a leader.
In this instance, this special someone has to have an excellent understanding of infrastructure and utility systems. They have to know how the clean water gets to homes and the dirty water gets taken away, how power comes to town and is distributed to homes. They must be on top of the most efficient and technologically superior ways to make that happen. It would be a wonderful thing if they also had a working knowledge of how to turn a wrench and what to do in an emergency so that they at least know who to call first.
That’s one facet of the job.
The other side of the coin is management. There must be a clear understanding of how to handle people, how to hire good ones and leave them alone to do their jobs. And how to get rid of them if they are not able to do that job or need someone breathing down their necks to do it properly and timely.
This might be the most important thing for our town right now. The city employees have been treated like something that is usually scraped off the bottom of your shoe and it is going to take a good while for them to recover from that. Then they have to relearn how to do their jobs without fear of repercussions. Not so much relearn, but free themselves to do the work and not be afraid the hammer is going to drop because they dared have an idea or move through their day without burdensome oversight.
In addition, this person must know how (or be willing to learn) how to create and execute a municipal budget. The city has an excellent accounting firm in RS Meacham, and should use its expertise to the fullest. That’s what we pay them for.
They also have to know how to set priorities. Those priorities should come from the city council, who should get them from the citizens. What matters to us? Those priorities should work their way down the chain of command from the voters to the council to the manager, who can then guide the accountants how much we want to spend on what.
A third facet is that someone must be keeping an eye out down the road for where we are going while the ship is righting itself. A city planner and economic development coordinator of sorts.
Where in creation are we going to find this special someone? Again, this is my opinion. We can’t. We need two people on a part time basis, two who can work together to accomplish the task. Two parts of a working whole. And a third person in the econ omic development/planner role. That office has been empty for quite a while and never really functioned as intended.
The first place to start looking would be in other cities and towns, preferably nearby. Steal good stuff. Poach their help, someone already doing a great job and looking for a challenge. I mean, hiring someone from New England might not be our best option. Nothing against them, but there are given realities and restrictions here – like driving an hour to get to a bigger town or city – that might require adjustments I’m not sure we have time for.
Take local applications, too. There are some excellent choices here as well.
Make them all meet the same standards. That means a full background check – criminal, court, full credit check. It is ok to have skeletons in the closet, but the city needs to know about them and how they were addressed.
Yes, we need to heal, and we need to move ahead. Let’s get started.