Council sets parameters for deputy city manager search

ASHEBORO — In a special called meeting on July 12, the Asheboro City Council discussed the process for recruiting and evaluating candidates for the deputy city manager, a new position being created.

But first, the board reappointed Bob Morrison to the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board.

Leading the deputy city manager discussion was Matt Reece of the Piedmont Triad Regional Council. He was joined by Teri Rivers of the PTRC, who outlined the process.

Rivers said the search should begin with collection of data before applying the data to the parameters of the search. Next is review of applications for the job based on the parameters, and finally assessment of the candidates leading to selection of the deputy city manager.

Rivers then gave a timeline: 

•Listening surveys, May

•Application framework, July-August

•Candidate assessment, September

•Consensus of candidate and confirmation, October

Reece then led the council members into a discussion to determine how they wanted to pursue the search. He asked them to rank the priorities of the new deputy’s role. The council favored the deputy to lead a portfolio of work with the responsibility to deliver results. The other choices were management of special projects or being a general assistant to the city manager.

City Manager John Ogburn then interjected that in a tight labor market, the deputy city manager should “give the council the most options. If something happens to me, the council is really stuck. It doesn’t mean the assistant city manager has to replace me.”

Walker Moffitt, mayor pro tem, said, “We want the assistant to be capable.”

Council member Joey Trogdon added, “We don’t want to set the bar too low and limit the field for assistant city manager.”

Reece suggested that the council “may want to call it the deputy city manager,” which implies more than being an assistant. The council members accepted that designation.

Said Walker, “Deputy is higher. I appreciate the thought process of that label.”

Reece then asked the council to set ground rules for future expectations, such as, should the deputy manager be required to live within the city limits, or within the county, or simply preferred to live in the city/county?

Ogburn suggested the requirement to live within the Asheboro City Schools boundary. But council member Charles Swiers cautioned that the requirement may be limited by the shortage of housing.

Another question was whether to limit the field to those with public sector experience. The council gave strong support for North Carolina public sector experience and prior experience as a department head, or experience as a city manager or assistant city manager.

Reece said those qualifications could enter in when the list comes down to finalists for the position. He suggested that the search could look at the individual’s community and professional profile and facilitate a panel interview process with a problem-solving exercise.

Council member Kelly Heath strongly recommended that finalists be asked to give a presentation to the search committee, not just respond to questions.

Reece said the search committee could be the entire council or a portion of the council, depending on who had the time for a lengthy and detailed process. Moffitt said, “I wouldn’t want to deprive anyone.”

Finally, Reece told the council members that they should strongly emphasize that this is an open search. Otherwise, if they want to look internally to fill the position, that should be made clear. “If it’s an internal search, don’t advertise,” he said.