Minutes - 20090330 - Manager Search

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Commissioner Gordon said to emphasize the essence of what they are looking for; she would like the firm to interview the Board of County Commissioners individually. And for the Board members to be clear as to what they want in a manager. Commissioner Jacobs suggested scheduling a conversation with the consultant as to what the Board is looking for in an ad brochure. He suggested the Board of County Commissioners write their thoughts down for Mercer. The Board suggested scheduling a meeting with The Mercer Group in April. Interim Process for Manager Commissioner Gordon said the Board needs to figure out when an interim manager would start and to make it clear to the interim whether this person could apply for the permanent position. Also make it clear if the Board of County Commissioners wants this person to overlap with the current manager, and his/her flexibility in terms of starting and ending times. Commissioner Jacobs asked why not also consider a person who applies for the permanent position. Chair Foushee said she believes that person would have an unfair advantage. Commissioner Jacobs said but what if they are good and they like this interim person. Chair Foushee said then why would they bother interviewing others. Michael McGinnis, Director of Human Resources, said it ceases to be a competitive process then and if they bring an interim person in, it does change the rules of the open and competitive process. Commissioner Gordon said she thought they would get a retired person and thought it would be from a different pool of people than the applicants for the permanent position. Commissioner Jacobs said he talked with officials from Moore County and they had hired a retired person on an interim basis; and the county liked him so much they hired him permanently. He said automatically excluding someone because this person was an interim is not fair. Chair Foushee said this is something they need to decide. Commissioner Nelson said the Board should hire an interim that is not allowed to apply and is not interested in the permanent position; but if they find out in 3 months they like this person, he would be willing to re-consider. Commissioner Yuhasz agreed. The Board agreed with this aspect. Also, the Board agreed that they would like a person, both for the interim and the permanent manager position, with N.C. experience. The Board agreed that they would like for an interim person to start on July 1 and Commissioner Yuhasz said June 1 would be even better with overlap time with the exiting manager and the interim manager.