05-12-2020 ERMU MIN - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

5.4 leadership Transition —Search Committee Update With the recent resignation of the General Manager, the commission acted on several leadership transition action items during a special meeting on April 28. The commission agreed on terms to hire Debra Englund, CEO HRExpertiseBP, as a search consultant. The agreement has since been reviewed by counsel and has been executed by Ms. Englund and Chair Dietz as authorized by the commission. The commission also established a Search Committee, comprised of Chair Dietz and Commissioner Stewart, that is authorized to work with the consultant to make certain candidate screening decisions and prepare a refined list of candidates for the board. The commission gave the search committee direction to develop the following deliverables for the May regular commission meeting: a tentative schedule for the general manager search and selection process for commission review, and a proposed general manager job description for commission approval. Ms. Englund provided an update to the commission on the timeline for milestones in the process, including a posting date of May 13, an application deadline of June 30, and start date of no later than October 1. The opening will be posted on the ERMU, Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association, Minnesota Rural Electric Association, and The League of Minnesota Cities websites, and with the Star News. Ms. Englund presented the preferred qualities of a new CEO, which had been prioritized by the Search Committee, the most important quality being an ability to understand the technical and business elements of leading an electric and water utility. Commissioner Nadeau commented that the list looked very thorough. Ms. Englund presented the job posting language for commission review and comments. Commissioner Bell commented that he thought mentioning that the current general manager was leaving in June might cause concern to applicants over the urgency of the posting. Commissioner Stewart commented that she preferred leaving the date in the posting because leaving it out could cause applicants to assume the previous general manager had been terminated and the opening needed to be filled immediately. After discussion, commission consensus was to keep the June leave date in the job posting. Attorney Beck suggested one minor change to the language that clarified that ERMU serves the city of Elk River and parts of Otsego, Dayton, and Big Lake Township. Moved by Commissioner Stewart and seconded by Commissioner Westgaard to approve the job posting for the General Manager position. Motion carried 5-0. Ms. Englund added that she has been working with Mr. Adams and the search committee to update the general manager job description, and noted it was very close to being finalized. Ms. Englund provided guidance to the commission on how to handle applicants contacting them directly about the job opening. She cautioned the commissioners from accepting Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Meeting Minutes May 12, 2020 Page 6