HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-04 TranscriptionJune 4, 2010 City Council Regular Work Session Page 1
Council Present:
Staff Present:
Others Present:
Bailey, Champion, Dickens, Hayek, Mims, Wilburn, Wright (arrived at
8:05 P.M.)
Helling, Dilkes, Karr
Bob Slavin, Paul Wenbert
City Manager Search:
Hayek/ We can probably go ahead and get started. I think, uh, hopefully Mike'll be here real
soon. Um, welcome everyone, uh, hope you all slept well over at the Vetro last night,
and uh, I think this morning, my sense is that...two things we want to accomplish, is talk
about the schedule and then talk about the profile. Um, so, uh, with that in mind, I know
everyone has met Paul and Bob, uh, which is great, and before you, you have a, uh, a
one-page proposed timeline, which these guys generated with Marian late yesterday
afternoon. Do you want to walk us through this?
Slavin/ Yeah, that would be helpful, and Paul'll join in, and this is a conversation obviously, uh,
because it...we need for your document, your process, uh, we need for you to...to feel
that it's yours not ours. Uh, but we did work out a timeline, um, that works for us and,
but... some parts of it it's tight, so and um, and there are some things that we need from
you in order to make it work. So, if, uh, if it's uncomfortable for you we need to adjust
it, um...the uh, we used and borrowed heavily from the work that was done in 2007 in
terms of language, and we can go ahead and use the essence of...in the back of where I'm
going with (mumbled) referring to the ad, because the ad gets us on the clock. We can go
ahead and place the ad, um, without waiting for the profile to be completed, and that
allows us to begin now and begin the clock now. We will borrow heavily on this
language that the PAR Group used, update it to, um...um, reflect current numbers, and
there's some wording in there that I was a little, um, concerned about, and one of the
things that we will not do as...we probably talked with each of you about yesterday, uh,
we will not use a salary. We will advertise it with a, um, competitive salary, based on
qualifications, and uh, not use a number. The other thing, uh, that we had done and I
think it's reflected in here is, uh, establish a deadline, application deadline date, which
will be advertised, and then obviously the, uh, candidates will be instructed to apply to us
and not to (mumbled). Um, so if...if you feel comfortable with that, uh, we'll go ahead
and, uh update the ad and I will have my office place it within the next couple of days,
and we're on the clock.
Champion/ Great!
Slavin/ Second important thing that we need from you folks is, uh, attention to the recruitment
profile, and I think we talked to almost every...one of you about the, um, this document
and what's in it, and the fact that it may have more information than required, and some,
uh, we have some more insight now into how it was developed and it was developed
through the process, through talking with you, and apparently there was a process
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June 4, 2010 City Council Regular Work Session Page 2
going on or recently completed that, um, concerning Planning Department and some
community.. .
Wenbert/ Through the Comprehensive Plan update I think (mumbled)
Slavin/ There's a lot of language in here that was borrowed from that. That's
how...partially...that and the and uh (mumbled) as it is. It has too much in it.
What we would like to do is take this document and use the information we, uh, gathered
over the last couple of days, plus the information that we will gather when we talk to your
staff this afternoon, and take a stab at...at um, revising it. And bring that to you, uh, not
personally, but have it available to you on the...14t"...thank you. Uh, sorry, it's right in
front of me! Uh, for your response, and we do need a quick response back from you on
that because the sooner we get it, uh, an approved profile, the sooner we can get it on our
web site, sooner we can begin to distribute it to people that we are trying to, uh, recruit,
uh, and, but it does have to be a document that you're comfortable with, and that you
think it reflects what you're looking for in the next city manager. This is a fine piece of,
uh, literature, if you will, but it is over-kill, and uh, it says too much, and even though the
issues I'm sure are valid, and they're all things you'd love to put on your...we did that
yesterday list, uh, and let's move on to the next things. It's overwhelming, and it, um,
and it isn't prioritized and there are things on here, I mean, just...just the burden of the
number of things, the weight of the number of things, uh, would tend to keep people from
applying rather than intrigue them into, um, applying because of the exciting work that
you have for them to do. It's just...we would like to edit it pretty substantially, uh, and
uh, have it be more reflective of what you folks told us, uh, over the last day or so, and
then you can add back to it. You know, it's your document; you can add back to it, but
we'd like to try, um, our hand at, uh, editing it on the basis of what you told us, and um,
the front part of it on the basis that it may have more information than necessary,
particularly as it talks about the history of the city. It's great information, but it's
available to people through libraries and through web sites and what they're really
interested in is what the city government's all about, how it functions, how many
employees, uh, how the...how the economy of the, uh, community functions, uh, what's
here, who your employers are -all of that's in here, uh, and we're not planning on taking
that out, but there's also a lot of verbiage about the history and uh, things that are
interesting ,but they're not pertinent to the city manager job, and again, it makes the
document too deep, uh, in our opinion. Um, so if you' 11 bear with us, and we' 11 give you
our, uh, the results of our efforts on the...on the 14t", and have at it! So...um...
Hayek/ Should we decide how we...how that...how that works, I mean, when you get that to us,
um, I mean, I think our options are either we schedule a meeting for all of us, or we have
some sub-set that can be more nimble.
Karr/ We need to decide that today, or you would decide that on the 14t", because built into the
schedule is there will be a response by the 16tH
Hayek/ Oh, that's right (several talking) we will actually be meeting on the 14t". Yeah.
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Karr/ Yeah, your meeting is the 14t". Uh, we will distribute it as soon as we get it, but it's likely
we won't get it until that meeting, so that evening, um...we will put it on the agenda that
evening and the point of it will be to allow you... at that time, or to at that time decide to
have another meeting, or you have a meeting the next evening, the 15t", is, you know, you
might want to decide something at that one as well. So, either now or later's fine, but
that's the understanding.
Hayek/ Okay.
Slavin/ Once the, uh, ad is placed and it begins to appear on web sites instantaneously it'll appear
in print, the, uh, there's obviously a little delay there, but once we place it on web sites,
uh, we will also place it on our web sites so waiting, or pending the, uh, completion and
approval of the profile, there will be something on there that talks about, uh, Iowa City
and refers people to your web site for... and, uh, and tells them what to expect in terms
of...of having the profile posted. So we'll get off and...we're not, because the clock is
started, we need to move and so...and it is, so time is somewhat, uh...
Hayek/ How is the recruitment profile distributed? Is it on request that you send it...
Slavin/ Well, it's, uh, you could ask several questions and I'd say yes to all of them because we
do it several ways. Uh, we...identify people that we, um, know or strongly believe to
meet the criteria, and we actually contact them and send it to them and ask them to take a
look at it. So, and we do that by email. Uh, there are...there will be some that we will,
um, send by mail. Uh, but that's becoming, um, less and less. Um, as email becomes
more and more available to, uh, people. We also place it on our web site, and all of the
ads refer to that.
Hayek/ Okay.
Slavin/ Um, it will be... (several talking)
Karr/ Yes.
Slavin/ And so that will be other access to it. I...one of the things that we want to make sure
about is...is that the people in this building know it's there and what the process is all
about and there's no mystery there, and the, uh, in the event that anybody on staff wants
to apply, we want them to know how to do it and where to do it, so we don't want
to... sometimes, um, I find that, uh, that there are, uh, things slip through the cracks, and
we do a great j ob of national recruiting and uh, but we need to make sure that we're
doing a good job of making the information available locally too. So, we'll do that.
Um...I answer your question, Matt?
Hayek/ Yeah, and I...I didn't want to hold up...if we're publishing the ad and that's going to
trigger an initial wave of interest, I don't want any delays on...on finalization of the
recruitment profile to impact that.
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Slavin/ Well, that's why the 16t" is important to us, and uh, there's nothing sacrus...sacred about
what you'll be receiving on the 14t", uh, it's your document. So, modify it. If it ends up
looking more like this, then um, then what we submit to you -fine! As long as you're
comfortable with it, but we think this is over-kill, and uh, um...and there are certain
things in there that definitely have to change, and some things in here that, um, we don't
think you're as interested in as you might have been, uh, three years ago, and some of
these things have been resolved. So, um, or at least at the point where they're not issues
that need to be addressed (mumbled)
Hayek/ Okay.
Slavin/ Um...the um...recruitment phase will begin, um, when the ad's placed and will be in full
swing with the, uh, approval of the profile, and we will be recruiting through, um,
according to this schedule, through July 23`d, which gives us about a month, which is
okay and uh, it's a good period of time, uh, to do the work we need to do, and to get the
response we need. The, um, it's not so long that we're going to lose people who apply
early because um...they've taken other jobs. Um, and that does happen if we extend the
process too, uh, far. Um, it does cause us a little concern, um, because of the winter, or
the summer months, where people are, uh, not necessarily, uh, where you expect them to
be, but again, now that, um, the internet is as prevalent as it is and we have internet
addresses for people we're interested in, they can...we can usually catch up with them no
matter where they are, so it's less of a problem than it used to be. Uh, so we feel
comfortable with that. Um, it's a little tight, but it's not, um, um... so tight that it doesn't
give us time to do a quality job. If for some reason we're not getting the response we
want, we'll let you know and we' 11 have to extend it, but we don't anticipate that. Um,
after the seven, or the um, 23`d, we need a few weeks to work with the group of folks
who've applied. We'll first narrow it to a, uh, to the group that meets the criteria, um,
and um, we'll have that group ranked in terms of people who appear on paper at least to
meet it better than others, and we' 11 continue to focus our attention on candidates who,
uh, again have convinced us and continue to convince us that they are best qualified for
this, of the people interested in it, and um, the thought being that by, uh, on the August
17t", we will come back, I'm sorry. Uh, on August 17t", we will have prepared and
distributed to you a progress report, which will be a confidential document that will have
the resumes, background information, uh, on...up to 15 candidates. Uh, and those people
will be presented to you for discussion at a closed session on the 20`"...of August. Uh,
that report will contain a summary resume, uh, basically showing who they are, where
they are, what their education is, how to reach them, and what they've done since they
left college. Um, it will also have a cover letter, whatever they submitted to us, um, you
will have. A cover letter, resume, and um, increasingly, uh, I've found it helpful to, um,
to, uh, have candidates complete a, um, a supplemental questionnaire that really talks
about their...asks them questions about their background as it relates to your profile. Uh,
it also goes into, and so that they are...they're providing you information and us
information too for screening purposes, but you information about what they've done,
where they've done it, how...what the outcome's been, um, and uh, and
it's...information we can verify, but it all will be tied to what you said you were looking
for. So...you'll get some insight before we, uh, meet on the 20t". You'll have that
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information, you'll have little bit more information about these folks, and then, uh, what
they would have initially sent to us. We also will ask them questions about have you ever
been fired, and if so, why. We'll also ask questions about have you ever sued or been
sued by an employer, and what were the, uh, or been part of a lawsuit involving your
employment, and we'll, um, provide you that information. We will also ask them how
much money they are making, so you'll have that. Um...uh, so you'll have, uh, certain
information that we...that we ask them. At that point we're not asking it, uh, for them in
preparation of doing background work, but we are asking it for the information so that we
can share it with you, number one, and number two, we're putting them on the spot. This
better be true and validated, and uh, and able to be validated, because if it's not, you're
out of here, and uh, cause anybody that we find, uh, being dishonest with us does not
come forward beyond us. So, we very seldom have city managers, um, candidates who,
uh, who are dishonest, but it does happen. Um, the other, um...caution I would have
about that part of the process is that we will have had conversations with them and know
more about them, um, because of our interaction with them than you will by reading that
document. So I will ask you to please, uh, not make judgments about the candidates, uh,
until we talk on that... on the 20` . Um, you' 11... it's hard not to have some idea, to form
some...opinions, but at least don't make hard and fast decisions about whether to include
or exclude somebody until we talk to you. Uh, because we may know something, um,
about what that person might have done in a previous job, or uh, or um, something that's
happening on their job or something that may be a little confidential that we'll want to
share with you in closed session, but don't want to put it in writing. That document will
be confidential, but um, the meeting will have, uh, will be a give and take workshop type,
uh, closed session, and we'll want to share with you what we know. Then we're going to
ask you, and L ..yes, um... (mumbled)
Wenbert/ Uh, I'm kind of sensitive to this. I was a city manager for 30 years and was on the
other side of the table. Um, at this stage the candidates are, and we guarantee them
confidentiality...because uh, until they get to be a finalist, uh, you know, as...especially
if they're a city manager compared to assistant city manager, they have some risk in
proceeding forward with any process. So, um, it...there, a lot of people are very hesitant
to apply, and we try and calm them down and say, no, it'll be confidential until...and if
you are a finalist and that puts their mind at east, so...
Slavin/ Yes, and we will be fully engaged with your attorney and um, what, um, we can and
can't do and what the community standards require in terms of release of information, but
as long as we can protect...the longer we can protect these names from, uh, from
um...being released, the better our chances of keeping the group...of quality people
together, even though at some point, um, those folks who are interviewed for this job, the
names are going to be public and there's going to be interaction. So, no doubt about that,
but there's no point in having somebody's name released who you folks have no interest
in, and who will never come here. So that's really, um, part of what we're saying. The,
um, at that meeting, uh, you will also be asked to take out a form that will be in the report
that, uh, I don't know, I'm guessing there'll be 10, 12, 14, 15 candidates, uh, semi-finalist
candidates. We're going to ask you, based on the information that you have, to rank
them 1 to 15, if there's 15. No ties and no, um, and even if you can't stand somebody, I
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still want you to make a distinction and rank them, because arithmetic won't work if you
don't! Um, and then we will average that and uh, calculate the, uh, arithmetic average
and report that to you, hopefully maybe at that meeting, and then you' 11 have an
opportunity to determine whether it's...that arithmetic average represents anything that
this group, uh, City Council as a group can, um, live with, and then we will use that
ranking, candidate, uh, ranking order as our marching, uh, direction. We will stop, start
with the top...assume that you want interviews with six folks. We'll start with the top,
and we'll go down to the sixth, and uh, we'll add a couple of more in case we get people
either not passing the, uh, the background check, or withdrawing or taking other jobs,
whatever might happen, so we'll want o make sure that we'll have a pretty good chance
of retaining that group of...the number that you want. Uh, we will know how people
rank relative to each other. I will almost assure you that within that...those top rankings,
there will be ties, um, so we probably won't have six...positions, but rather more, or
fewer positions, but in order to get to six candidates, it's almost always the case. If there
are significant gaps between, uh, the rankings, uh, we'll...you'll see that and we'll, I
mean, if there are five, um, places that are pretty tight, um, we scored points, uh, fractions
of points between, uh, them, and then there's a 10 point gap, maybe we won't go to
number six, um, so we' 11... but that' 11 be your decision. You' 11 be able to see all that. Uh,
and then, uh, what we do between that point in time and the time that you're interviewing
candidates, is a lot of work. Uh, we meet them, we go visit them, uh, the first thing we
do is a lot of in-house background work. We're not going to go meet people who aren't
going to pass scrutiny, so we do credit, criminal, driving, um, education checks, reference
checks, uh, we don't, uh, just ask, uh, people whose names candidates provide to us, but
we go beyond that. We've been in the business a long time, uh, and have been active in a
lot of different parts of the country, so we'll know people who know these folks, who will
keep their mouth shut. They'll never know, uh, candidates will never know who we're
talking to, beyond their list, but they do know, uh, and the people we're speaking with
may, uh, will be told that we won't release what they tell us, but we're looking for
consistent quality, uh, we're looking for quality candidates and whose background, uh,
from different vantage points is, uh, viewed as, uh, fairly uh, consistent with what they've
told us, and what others have told us about them. So we'll get a pretty good, maybe not
360, but as close to it as we can get, uh, look at these folks. Um, and then we will want,
uh, then we'll be ready to bring people to you folks for interview, and...and uh, that um,
leads to um, some discussion points here, um, the...in terms of process, uh, we provided
two options -there may be others. We know you want to involve former mayors and the
um, board and commission chair folks, and uh, staff. Um, department heads. Um, but
how you want to handle this is up to you, and I guess the question we're putting before
you, uh, is do you want to...if in fact you want to interview five or six candidates, do you
want to bring them all in, with their spouses, at one time and have them go through this
multi-tiered, multi-faceted process involving, um, the various constituencies, uh,
stakeholders, uh, and then make a decision on the basis of...of that one, um, event, or one
weekend, or I guess it's (mumbled) because of the, um, of football schedule it might be
during the week. Um, or do you want to, uh, as a Council spend time with four, five or
six...or five, six or whatever number you chose, and then narrow that group and bring a
smaller, and have them come in without their spouses, come into town, uh, pretty simple
interview with you folks, um, and then make a... a decision as to whether or not, um, you
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want to bring them all back or just some of them back for a more, um, uh...ared-carpet
type process, uh, a time in the very near future from that and I would say within a week.
There won't be much more vetting that needs to be done, so...and that's up to you.
Really difference is, um, really are, uh, logistical, uh, cost, and uh, in terms of spousal
involvement, um, and um...maybe we need to talk to your attorney about this, the
uh...need to release candidate names. In other words if we bring...if you bring three
back and (mumbled) only names (mumbled). If you bring six back, uh, they need to be
prepared to have their name released, whether you have to do it or not because the
exposure that will occur, um, with at least 30 people, or more. So...those, uh, and I think
that's...what we need from you is kind of a direction.
Hayek/ Sure. If we, uh, if we follow...if we bring five or six in, um, for Council only interviews,
and then whittle that down to say two finalists, and bring them back, the six who come in
for the Council only interviews, would their...their names would have to be released,
wouldn't they?
Bailey/ They wouldn't, would they?
Dilkes/ Well, they wouldn't have to be, legally.
Hayek/ Okay!
Bailey/ I like that approach.
Wright/ I do too. That's my preference.
Bailey/ Um, I don't...I don't want to get the community all fraught up over six people
when...when we might not like two of `em!
Mims/ Well, and from their perspective too, they...I would think with names being released,
they'd prefer to be coming in with just say two or three of them as finalists knowing their
names are going to be released than one of six.
Bailey/ I think it makes (several talking) or our process more attractive.
Wright/ And I think when you start bringing spouse into the mix, uh, if you, you know, it's going
to become total chaos. (laughter) If we bring `em all in at once!
Mims/ Yeah, logistics...
Slavin/ And there's going to be a lot of activity for that final, final group, um, apparently there'll
be, I mean, we've got about... in order to make it work you've got to divide the different
groups into different (mumbled). There'll be three or four interviews.
Karr/ We were talking about four.
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Wright/ We'll be close to musical chairs, either way, probably a little less so with the fewer
candidates (several talking)
Hayek/ But if we're...if we're only dealing with let's say two finalists, I think that's...I think
that's workable, and it works better, assuming we're going to bring in the commission
chairs and the former mayors, and if we want to revisit that, we can, but that's what we
talked about a while ago. Um, so we're only releasing two names in the...
Slavin/ We will obviously caution these folks that, uh, once the names leave our hands, uh,
Slavin Management, that um, that anything can happen. We can't control it, but we will
also tell them that you folks have demonstrated a very, very strong, um, ability to, um,
not release confidential information so that their expectation is that their names will not
be released but it could, so we don't want them to be blindsided.
Champion/ We're not going to release their names, but once the press realizes we're going to be
interviewing, they may be down here stalking them!
Slavin/ Well you mentioned, or somebody mentioned that the other day, and had something
happen in a jurisdiction where we took great, um, care to keep the, um, process, uh, in
closed session, and what happened was...don't want to give anybody any hints, but what
happened was that, uh, reporters followed the Council folks from their homes to where
that location was and uh, so the cameras were there and the lights were on before we got
there (laughter).
Wilburn/ There have been some, um, positions, uh, at the University here where, uh, you know,
radio or something like that will camp out at an airport.
Slavin/ Well, if that happened (mumbled) stop planes on tarmacs, which is illegal, but they did it.
Once it...you know, reality is we probably could manage, uh, the situation if we had to
release those six names. Uh, we might not have the same six, uh, if we, um, can't
guarantee that, but we might. Uh, the, uh, the trick is, or the key to this, uh, is to manage
it so that the candidates know what to expect, and uh, know how to prepare their, uh,
communities for it. If in fact the exposure is a long period, for a long period of time, we
will definitely lose good people. So, um, we need to manage it, and cases like that where
they were meeting the planes on tarmacs, we've had people stay in hotels that were
closed but one of the Council members owned it. Uh, we've had interviews take place in
houses, uh, three or four houses on the same block so a majority of the Council never
were together...all of that indicated, uh, just resulted in challenging those that wanted to
find out those names, and they did, and uh, not every...it was even worse than that
because they had almost every name of candidates who were there, but then they
speculated as to who else might be there and started talking about people who weren't
there (laughter). So, you know, the reality is, and we had advised them early on, just let
us manage it. If the names have to be released, you'll be in town two days, they can live
with it, that's fine. It ended up being a worse fiasco because they...they really thought,
well, this is...these folks aren't going to get what we don't want to give `em and uh, they
did anyway. So, we'll manage that and...
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Hayek/ Yeah, I'm not worried...about, I'm not concerned about...
Slavin/ But if we can keep it to two or three, uh, that does help a lot. And it does, you know, it's
really hard for a city manager to be a candidate for a job in another town, and to be out of
town doing it, and...because it's on the front page of the local paper, so the fewer people
we can expose to that the better our chances of making this a successful, um, process for
you. The other reason I kind of like your thinking about the...bifurcated process is
because you might not like any of `em! Um...
Champion/ It wouldn't be the first time!
Slavin/ ..yeah, oh, um...the uh, and you have the right, obviously, and we want you to exercise
that right to say that to us, so, um... (noise on mic) uh, I hope that doesn't happen, and it
very seldom does, but it could and...
Bailey/ Just make sure it doesn't! (laughter) That's your job, right? (laughter and several
talking)
Wright/ We don't want to revisit the process last time!
Wenbert/ Let me just say this in response to that, if we run into snags or we think there's going
to be any problem that will diminish the quality of this group, we will talk to you about it,
and...because something will have to adjust. But we don't anticipate that happening.
Slavin/ Got a couple of good cheerleaders, uh, and this one next to me is, uh, outstanding
cheerleader for this community and uh, he knows a lot about it. I know less about it, but
I, uh, certainly am excited about it, so...think you've got a couple of good advocates for
the...for the job, and the community, and...and for this Council. So, and we have
enough insight into, uh, the history that we can...we can, um, work with that.
Hayek/ Um, back to the dates, uh, there's a...you know, there's aone-month gap between the
progress report meeting and when we start interviewing. Um, is there any way to shorten
that at all, uh, be...and, flipping forward, I...I'd really love for us to be in a position to
make an offer to somebody in September. Um...and I don't know if that's workable
under this timeline, for having a wave of five or six, and then a wave of two.
Slavin/ The, uh, answer to your question there is, uh, probably. Uh, what has to happen during
that period of time (mumbled) our, um, things that we don't know right now that could
make that very possible. What needs to happen, um, is the, um, background work, which
can take some time, depending on...really that depends more on the, um, court systems
and the places that these folks have lived within the last ten years, uh, and how
responsive those systems can be to getting information. It also depends on availability
for site visits. We don't want to interview them on Panama City Beach, even though that
might be fun, uh, we want to interview them in their work locations. Um, so, um, there
is, and we can kind of put a hold on that time to make ourselves available to do it, uh, this
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is not a generous amount of time, but it does have a little bit of room in it. Um, we could
try to make it, uh, and the other factor, the thing that I was going to mention is that we
may know a lot of these folks, and that would...no sense going to visit somebody we've
already visited, so...um, it could be.
Wenbert/ But to answer the question, when...since it's going to be a two-step process, if uh,
the...when would we envision the second step to be (both talking) week of the 20t" of
September.
Slavin/ Yeah, and that'll also, uh, encroach on that period of time.
Hayek/ Yeah.
Wenbert/ But would the second step, would probably be the next week, wouldn't it? (both
talking)
Slavin/ Yeah, I think we need to plan on that (several talking)
Wenbert/ ...and your final two or three the week of the 27t", and um, there's probably no reason
that you couldn't make an offer by the 30t" of September.
Slavin/ Oh, we will have already, um, yes, that's true. Um, we...(several talking)
Wenbert/ Well, uh, the Mayor was asking could they make an offer by September, and you're
pushing the end of September, but if you interview the final two or three just
hypothetically on the 27t", that's Monday, uh, or Monday and Tuesday, whatever the
process is, typically, um, you know who you want, and they know by that time if they
want to be here, and employment agreements are not a big mystery, um, we've seen that
whole process be wrapped up in a day or two.
Slavin/ Once you invite the two or three back, we'll ask them to think...thinking about what they
would like if, um, if they're offered so that we at least aren't at point, uh, zero when it
comes to negotiating. Uh, it's going to be tight. Uh, the, if we could move the, um, the
uh, five or six interview, um, up a little bit we could get the second round in (noise on
mic) I don't know, Paul, what do you...we gotta make this happen. We have to do it
right. So, uh, what is your...
Wenbert/ My only, uh, it really comes down to, uh, the risk is that you might be surprised. If
you move the process up too quickly and the background work takes longer than we think
and we find something that totally out of the blue, which, um, and I've been...I've only
done this for three years, but even in that short time, sometimes you find out something in
a background check that kind of surprises us, and so um, it just depends if...a little more
time means you're less likely to get a surprise like that.
Hayek/ We don't want to rush it. We don't want to leave stones unturned, um...
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Bailey/ Is there any other part of...of this schedule that can be, um, adjusted? I mean, I trust that
you've done what you think is necessary. I mean, I would hate to (several talking)
Slavin/ Actually, um, the only other part that we could adjust, and it is just as dangerous, is the
recruitment period. (several responding) That's, uh, right. I think this is a pretty tight
schedule, uh, and I also think, Mayor, that if we... it is even possible, uh, that you could
hold the first round of interviews early in a week, and bring them back later that same
week.
Wright/ I don't see any reason we couldn't have an offer out within September if there's a
candidate in this pool that we like.
Hayek/ Yeah. Okay.
Slavin/ I think it'll be highly unlikely (several talking)
Hayek/ Yeah, if it...that's okay too. I think there's...first of all you have a budget process that
I'd like our new CM to...
Bailey/ But even if we have an offer there's no guarantee that they're going to (both talking)
Hayek/ ...maybe that's not that important. (several talking)
Slavin/ Well, just a comment about that, and Paul has been a manager, I've been an assistant, uh,
so he knows a little bit more about...being on the hot seat for, as the city manager, for
budget than I do, but the, uh, it... it's been my experience that managers kind of like
inheriting a budget for the first year. It's not theirs, they're not going to be held
responsible for it necessarily, and by the next year they're pretty (both talking)
Hayek/ Yeah, all right.
Bailey/ Actually that timing does work out for a... for a learning curve, a little bit better. I mean,
it's not ideal for us, but...
Hayek/ Obviously we have got the leadership in place to...to shepherd that process smoothly
anyway.
Karr/ May I also remind you that what we did last time, which may work this time also is, when
we get down to that point of scheduling the first round of semi-finalists, as it were, we
alert them to also please reserve the next week, and we tell them then that if you are a
finalist, you'll be asked to come back at the next...so they will know coming for the first
visit of the possibility of the second visit.
Wright/ Good to know!
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Karr/ And that worked successfully last time, I think. Um, as far as scheduling purposes for you
folks, but also scheduling for our needs to reserve the rooms for meet-and-greet and the
community involvement, but also the finalists. And that still could be...be that week of
the 27tH
Wenbert/ Just one more thing I'll say, typically city managers, um, in their employment
agreements have like a 60-day notice period. Sometimes city councils will waive that
and make it quicker, but just for your own expectations, don't...if you make an offer and
they accept by September 30t", um, it's...it's normal that they might not actually start for
two months. Sometimes it happens more quickly.
Slavin/ If that's the case, then you...there are ways of coming and bringing them up to, uh, snuff
so that they don't... so they know what's going on by the time they start, um.. .
Wenbert/ Yeah, a lot of times managers will start communicating with the staff, especially cause
the staff will be in budget preparation in the fall, uh, and they' 11 try to get up to speed as
quickly as they can, but...
Slavin/ May come to town a time or two to attend meetings and to meet some folks. Uh, that
is...
Bailey/ When we get the right person it'll all work, I mean, there'll be a person who (both
talking)
Slavin/ ...and then our advice would be, if there is a delay because of something like a
requirement to give 60 days' notice, that you stay fully engaged with that person... so
that, um, they become more, uh, inclined to think of you folks as their employer than
their...they need to do some, the reason...they need to do some things while they're
leaving, but the lame-duck period is usually a very uncomfortable time for them anyway,
so...
Hayek/ Right. Are the three of you comfortable with this? Does it make sense? You worried
about timing at all?
Karr/ We...I know I personally have talked to Paul and Bob, and again, um, whether you're a
football fan or not, in this community, and when you talk about scheduling meet and
greets, and involvement by committee chairs, I think you have to look at the fall, uh
(noise on mic) what the community does and the availability of...of um, rooms and
things like that, and we've taken that into consideration (several talking)
Champion/ Oh good yeah!
Hayek/ Even the away games, I mean, if it's like aclose-by away game (both talking)
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June 4, 2010 City Council Regular Work Session Page 13
Karr/ This particular one is a home game, and it's anon-conference, Ball State. So, um, where it
gets into is if it goes a little bit later, you hit the first one in October is homecoming, and
it's Penn State, and um, I would avoid that Friday, Saturday (laughter).
Champion/ I wouldn't even want `em here to see what goes on!
Karr/ I mean, and we've taken that into consideration, and I think this schedule allows that, and
um, I think even the decision for the second round certainly allows that.
Slavin/ It is tight though in terms of the...of the, um, September 30tH
Hayek/ Well, look, I'm not...I don't want to be super-strict about that. I just want to move it
along (several talking) I want to do it right. This is a very important process (several
talking)
Bailey/ ...anybody who looks at this schedule would say that this is a prudent and appropriate
schedule; we're not delaying; we're not dragging our feet.
Champion/ No we're not. My only problem with this schedule, and it's probably...I don't know,
but the timeline only bothers me because...I would think people wouldn't like to move
that time of the year.
Slavin/ Well, you know, the moving issue...the issue about moving is really an increasingly
important issue. I don't know that it's so much, uh, dependent on, or factored by the time
of the year so much now as it is the real estate market, uh, um..yeah, uh, you know.. .
Wenbert/ It's an occupational hazard for city managers and once you are upwardly mobile, uh, as
I did in my career, you just...it's just something you live with. And, um, obviously you
have a lot of conversation with your family and... and they're on board, um, and if they're
not, then you shouldn't even be in the process.
Bailey/ But school wise, I mean, if you think of that, there's only about a month, and then they
start a second semester, or the second half of the school year, potentially. That...that
(several talking)
Wenbert/ But depending on how far the candidates come from, if it's a long ways a way,
typically, um, the...the candidate may come here for the first six months and be on their
own, which a lot of candidates really actually like because they want to immerse
themselves in the community and the job, and it's easier to do it when...when, uh, your
family's back somewhere else. Everybody's in a different life situation.
Slavin/ That's right. If you have candidates that have seniors in high school, you can almost bet
that they'll leave their family where they are for a while, and then...then you'll be
discussing with them is, as we negotiate, uh, things like trips to home, and back, and
temporary housing assistance and...that's all kind of typical stuff, but uh, it's a good
point, and if we were a month ahead of ourselves, we probably could assume that
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somebody could uh, make the decision to come and have their kids start the fall, um,
school year here, but that's probably, that happens within that window of time every year,
but we're beyond it, so...
Hayek/ Is, um, we're going to look at the recruitment profile on June 14. Would it be helpful for
Council to, I guess, well, if we receive a draft then it's...then it's public, uh, well, it's a
public document anyway, isn't it? (several talking) day or two or three in advance.
Karr/ We can't. That's...that was what we talked about last night, is that...both of them didn't
feel we could have it any sooner than distribution the 14tH, unless they...so that...that was
the earliest we could distribute it to you, and...and then the quick enough turnaround
time would be the 16tH. Now if there's any doubt on...on shortening it, or lengthening it,
obviously we should take a look then at the ad publication going in the previous Friday.
Hayek/ I...I just think we...we individually need an opportunity to review it, and then
collectively to discuss it, whether it's all of us or a sub-set and I'm fine with either one.
Slavin/ If we can get it done sooner, you will have it sooner, um, and it is a, um, the document
there is, uh, I guess until it's approved it's just anon-document and I...this is certainly
public. Um, so I...I'm not as concerned about the confidentiality of that, uh, as you
might be because it does have to be approved, uh, by you folks and blessed by you folks,
um, if we can get it done sooner you'll have it sooner, but looking at our schedules and
uh, the amount of work that's going to be required to make it...to adjust it to where I
think we're going to be comfortable with it, is...and then coordinate with what Paul's
going to be doing and what I'm going to be doing, uh, is probably...it's...
Wright/ If we get that on the 14tH, it's not a huge document, we could even have a meeting
scheduled, uh, a special meeting scheduled on the 15tH to discuss that only if we want, or
have (several talking)
Karr/ We have a formal meeting the 15tH
Wright/ Yeah, we have a formal meeting...
Bailey/ We could do a work session after or before.
Wright/ Yeah!
Karr/ Or the other option is to agree to a committee and the committee would report back to you
at that time.
Wright/ Either way I...
Champion/ We're all going to be meeting on the next day anyway, so could we start 45 minutes
earlier?
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June 4, 2010 City Council Regular Work Session Page 15
Bailey/ And then if it gets difficult we can committee it.
Hayek/ Okay.
Wright/ Yeah, I think it's...
Hayek/ ..tentatively plan on some thing...something on the 15tH
Karr/ Special work session on the 15tH. I'll put it on the 14tH too, in the event we get it early.
(several responding)
Hayek/ Great! (several talking)
Slavin/ If it's a lot shorter, and I mean, it is possible that we could get the text of it to you, uh,
quicker, and the final, um, version of it with all of the graphics, uh...
Champion/ Well, since we have those two days, I think we'll be fine. We're meeting anyway for
those two days.
Bailey/ But if you have text earlier than...than final layout, that would be helpful.
Wright/ That's fine. Yeah. (several talking)
Slavin/ Well, we can....(several talking and laughing) Okay, well we'll get it to you as quickly
as we can, and I am not...I mean, I share this thought, but I'm not too concerned about it
being a public document.
Hayek/ No, we're not...I'm not. Okay. Well, what else do we need to...
Slavin/ We've got what we need from you, we think.
Hayek/ (several talking) Well, those were great meetings yesterday, uh, appreciate your time on
that (several talking) yeah.
Slavin/ We enjoyed it, uh, and uh...not always the case! (laughter)
Hayek/ I can imagine!
Slavin/ We could tell ya! Um (laughter) but we won't!
Hayek/ Okay, uh, if there's nothing else I think we can wrap this up, and then you folks are
meeting with the department heads starting at 9:30. Okay. (several talking) Thank you
very much.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special
work session meeting of June 4, 2010.