With the impending departure of Sheila Hill-Christian, there’s no natural successor in place.
Portland city councilors met Monday to identify their preference for an interim city manager and received an update about a months-long search to find a new long-term top administrator.
Mayor Michael Brennan would not comment about the number of people being considered to take over as acting city manager when Sheila Hill-Christian leaves on May 8. He said the formal appointment may not be made until May 4 after negotiations with the candidate.
“The council gave guidance,” Brennan said after the 45-minute executive session. “I can’t comment on who we will have that conversation with.”
Hill-Christian, the city’s deputy city manager since 2013, was named acting city manager when Mark Rees resigned last September after three years on the job. With her departure, there is no natural successor to take over the city’s day-to-day operations and councilors would not comment Monday about rumored replacements.
Councilors also received an update about the search for a permanent city manager. That search has taken on a renewed sense of urgency now that Hill-Christian, who enjoyed wide support among councilors and City Hall staff, announced that she is taking a job in Cincinnati.
POSSIBLE LAYOFFS
Her departure comes as the city is under fire from Gov. Paul LePage over its welfare programs. Hill-Christian announced that she was leaving the city two days after presenting a $278.3 million municipal budget that eliminated 24 positions, including 15 layoffs, and laid the groundwork to reform its General Assistance program and homeless shelters.
The combined city and school budgets would increase taxes by 2.9 percent, putting the tax rate at $20.58.
After Hill-Christian announced her departure, some councilors questioned whether her decision was caused, in part, by the change in the City Charter back in 2010 that created a popularly elected mayor who has no control over day-to-day operations. That system can make it difficult for staff, especially the manager and corporation counsel, to do their jobs when the mayor and councilors disagree.
Councilors are hoping to conduct an exit interview with Hill-Christian on April 29.
Sixty-six people applied for the open manager position, according to a memo to councilors. The council’s City Manager Search Committee will work with a consultant to whittle that pool down to as many as six candidates who will be interviewed in person on May 13 or 14.
Brennan said the city’s goal is to have someone in place by July 1, the start of the next fiscal year.
Between nine and 11 candidates for the permanent position will be asked to respond to essay questions. Those responses, along with phone interviews conducted by the consultant, will be used to narrow the field for in-person interviews.
Councilor Jon Hinck suggested that the council come up with a lightning round of questions that would test each candidate’s reactions to certain scenarios, ranging from a citywide emergency to a political crisis.
The city has hired Municipal Resources Inc. of Meredith, New Hampshire, at a base rate of $15,500 to conduct a nationwide search for a new manager. The firm was chosen because of its experience in finding executives in Maine and New England.
BACKUP BACKS OUT
When the council began soliciting applications in mid-February, many councilors had hoped and presumed that Hill-Christian would apply. But before the March 6 deadline, she announced that she wanted to remain deputy city manager, prompting the city to extend the deadline for resumes until March 31.
Hinck questioned whether the firm hired by the council would be able to find a qualified candidate.
“The reason I didn’t pay attention to all of these details when the committee presented this previously was because I thought we had a pretty good backup,” Hinck said, referring to Hill-Christian.
Councilor Jill Duson, who serves on the search committee, said there was “a handful” of strong candidates in the pool, while Councilor Nicholas Mavodones said there were perhaps two ideal candidates.
“I feel good based on the process we went through and our interactions with the consultant,” Mavodones said.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
