Councillors here are considering a different approach to replace its town manager.
At a Feb. 29 meeting town manager Lisa Hass, who will retire this spring, asked for council feedback on draft advertisements for the position.
“Time’s ticking,” Hass said.
“I’m in denial,” quipped councillor Barb Tocher.
Councillor John Brennan said at a recent conference he ran across Ravenhill Group Inc., which works in the municipal field and has considerable experience.
“I think this position is important enough that we should get it done professionally,” said Brennan. “I certainly don’t believe I have the qualifications to ask the right questions of candidates, nor do I think we really have the time to do an effective job.”
Brennan said Ravenhill will send a proposal for council to review.
Tocher relayed her recent experience working with a headhunter to find a senior systems analyst in the IT department. She said the company advertised in Newspapers, trade magazines and at monster.ca, and was unsuccessful in getting an appropriate candidate.
“We decided to go with a headhunter, who wanted to know exactly what we were looking for,” she said.
“Within a week we had five [candidates], three of whom were interviewed and one person who was hired.”
Tocher said the headhunter agency did all the legwork and charged 20% of the annual salary for the position, which she felt “was well worth it.”
Mayor Lou Maieron asked how much it would cost to place ads. Hass estimated at least a couple thousand dollars.
Brennan said, “I think this position is too important for us to do this by our bootstraps.”
Councillor Deb Callaghan agreed councillors do not have the expertise.
Tocher added, “When the existing town manager was placed in her position, we had a professional management team working with us.”
Maieron said he has “concerns” and while he is willing to consider the proposal, “It seems a little costly.”
He said Hass was on the Ontario government’s list of civil servants paid at least $100,000 a year, “so we generally have a ballpark as to what this is going to cost (according to the “Sunshine List” in 2010 Hass earned $103,594).
Hass said it might be more costly to choose an inappropriate candidate. She stressed using a headhunter is just one option council could consider.
Tocher noted candidates have resumes already on file with the agencies.
Maieron said, “We were elected as the governing body – I guess we can pass off this responsibility if we wish. I don’t think it is something we should pass off.”
Tocher and Brennan disagreed with the mayor.
“I don’t think we are passing this off,” Tocher said.
Brennan added, “I think we are fulfilling our responsibilities by doing this properly and making certain we get the right person.”
Maieron contended this was the first time he’d heard of such an approach. He said hiring of department heads in Wellington County is done at the county level. Tocher noted the county has a human resource department.
Maieron said the proposal would be considered when it comes in.
