03092006110
MINUTES
CITY OF DUNN
DUNN, NORTH CAROLINA
The City Council of the City of Dunn held a Special Call Meeting on Thursday, March 9, 2006, at
5:00 p.m. in the Multi- purpose room of the Dunn Recreation Center, 209 Jackson Road, Dunn, NC.
Present was Mayor J. Dal Snipes, Mayor Pro Tem Donnie Olds, Council Members Buddy Maness,
Bryan Galbreath, Billy Tart, Billy R. Godwin, Jr. and Joey Tart. Also present was Interim City
Manager Ronnie Autry, Human Resources /Safety Officer Moses Gallion, City Planner Steven
Neuschafer, Police Chief Tim Benware, City Attorney P. Tilghman Pope, City Clerk Debra West,
and North Carolina League of Municipalities (NCLM) Human Resources/Employee Relations
Consulting Manager Hartwell W. Wright.
INVOCATION
Mayor Snipes opened the meeting at 5:10 p.m. and asked Council Member Maness to give the invocation.
Mayor Snipes welcomed NCLM Human Resources/Employee Relations Consulting Manager Hartwell W.
Wright for bringing forth information in selecting a City Manager.
Mr. Wright stated that his goal is to leave the Council with an understandable process in hiring a Manager.
In referring to City Manager vacancies, Mr. Wright stated there is a ten percent (10 %) vacancy rate within
North Carolina municipalities at this time. With this number of vacancies, it can create competition among
municipalities. There is a good chance that some of the people applying for Dunn's position will also be
applying for other communities across the state. Some of these vacancies may have occurred because of
recent municipal election changes.
Council Member Galbreath arrived at 5:18p.ni.
Mr. Wright presented an outline format in Selecting a City Manager to the Council. He stressed that the
League can only help the City with the hiring process. The following is a summarization of the format:
There are (3) steps in the hiring process:
1. Recruitment
2. Assessment
3. Acceptance
• Two -way process — Not only is the City trying to hire a Manager but the people who will
f be recruited are looking at the City with their livelihood.
• The more professional a Council conducts themselves through this process, the more
likely they will attract candidates. A candidate may remove themselves from the process
if they feel the council is not professional acting.
Three decisions before beginning the process:
1. Process will require clerical/staff support — duties given to a staff member or
may bring in an outside source — should respond/acknowledge to each
applicant that applies — Designate someone to follow -up to each application.
2. Will this recruitment be a confidential or open process? — applicants will want
to know this — most towns the size of Dunn keep the recruitment confidential
— if Dunn opens the process, it will deter applicants from applying - legal
requirements are only to announce who is hired.
3. Option to utilize a recruitment consultant to conduct the search —
recommended that Dunn handle their own in -house — some towns form a
committee among the Council to carry out certain task.
Mr. Wright gave the Council an overview of the information they should provide the media in recruiting a
City Manager.
Mr. Wright emphasized that this is the most important task that the City Council will ever undertake. The
City Manager is the ambassador of the City; he must work with the citizens as well as the Council and City
staff.
• Recommended that the council plan a work session to determine the criteria that they want in a
Manager - Suggested that each Council Member build their own profile (education/experience
requirements) for the City Manager— create a must list
• Option to hire a facilitator to assist the Council in creating a profile
• Consider past Managers to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses
• Develop a profile collectively as a Council before an employment ad is published
Typically takes six (6) months to select a Manager.
Mr. Wright stated that once the resumes start coming in, the screening process must be determined — will a
committee review the applicants, HR Director or Mayor? Once an application is received, he recommends
that every applicant be notified that their application has been received. He recommended that all
applicants be given a City application to complete in addition to their resume (this will allow for a
background check).
111
Mr. Wright stated that a staff member could conduct the reference check — he presented a check list to
conduct a background check — this process may eliminate some potential candidates.
Out -of -State Candidates:
• Can be costly to interview out -of -state candidates
• May want to engage in some other type of interview with them such as a teleconference interview
before incurring the cost to bring in an out -of -state candidate
He presented an interview format:
• Designate one Council member to ask the same question of each candidate at each interview
• Reserve at least (2) hours for each applicant's interview
He presented a sample form to evaluate each candidate. He strongly encouraged that the Council use some
tool to evaluate each candidate after each interview. Each Council member should complete their
evaluation form as soon as an interview is over.
• Recommended a Federal and State criminal background check before offering the position.
• Most managers require a contract - This is the mode of operation today.
More discussion about creating a committee to screen applications as they are received. With a must
criteria, it will help to eliminate applications when they are screened.
What is the typical City Manager profile of a City comparable to the size of Dunn?
• Mr. Wright responded that there are towns with a degree but no experience
• Council must determine if experience has a higher value than education
• Majority of younger candidates (age 30 -40) have a Masters in Public Administration
• A number of managers are going back to acquire their masters in business administration
Mr. Wright recommended that the job posting state a respond by date; not a closing date.
Mr. Wright stressed again, the importance of a Council acting professional when interviewing a candidate.
6:47 p.m. - Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Olds, seconded by Council Member Maness to enter closed session
to discuss personnel matters. Motion unanimously approved.
7:03 - Closed session adjourned and the regular meeting reconvened.
Motion by Council Member Joey Tart, seconded by Council Member Billy Tart to approve the minutes of
the closed session as recorded by Attorney Pope. Motion unanimously approved.
7: 05 p.m. - Motion by Council Member Joey Tart, seconded by Council Member Billy Tart to recess the
Council meeting and schedule to reconvene at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 in the Dunn
Municipal Building. Motion unanimously approved.
CITY
OP
' ' ORP09
9 -
2 p'. s FAL
..........
Attest: ., CARO�-,01"
/0
Debra G. West
City Clerk
,�1