6.6. SR 02-14-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item 6.6. MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Pat Klaers, City Administrator DATE: February 14, 2005 SUBJECT: Discussion on Community Development Director Position The community development director position has been a much discussed topic over the last year or so. In April, July, and November 2004, the City Council had meetings to discuss changes in the city organizational structure. During these meetings, the community development director was one of the key positions discussed. Additionally, in April and May, the City Council had three worksessions with all city department heads and Jim Brimeyer, the Brimeyer Group, to review top city issues, goals, and priorities. Not surprisingly, one of the top two goals that came out of these three worksessions was to adopt a new staff organizational structure and to implement this new plan. Regarding the city organizational structure, it should be noted that the parks and recreation director started in July 2004. In September 2004, the City Council decided to include in the 2005 budget the salary for the community development director position. In November 2004, the City Council adopted a revised city organizational chart and appointed Lori Johnson as Director of Finance and Administrative Services. Finally, in December 2004, the City Council approved the hiring range for the community development director. It is now time to move forward with the recruitment and selection of a community development director in order for this position to be filled by mid to late summer 2005. An important decision for the City Council in how to proceed in filling this position relates to whether or not a professional recruitment fIrm should be used in helping the city attract, interview, and select the best candidate for this position. We have had success in the past using a consulting fIrm to assist the city in this process and we have also been successful in the past without using a consulting fIrm. The Brimeyer Group has assisted the city when we hired Paul Steinman and Cathy Mehelich for Economic Development Director and Michele McPherson for Director of Planning. A professional consulting fIrm to assist in the process can sometimes "depoliticize" the process. Accordingly, the fIrst decision for the City Council is whether or not we should use a consulting fIrm to assist in the selection. If the answer is yes to this question, then the next issue is whether or not the city should use the Brimeyer Group or seek proposals from other fIrms for this work. Mr. Brimeyer has worked with