That was my advice to the Richardson City Council last week upon hearing the news that longtime City Manager Bill Keffler was retiring, effective May 31, and the council would need to choose a replacement.I urge them to take their time, to act independently and resist outside influence, to conduct a wide and thorough search, and to choose someone who is a strong leader, an able manager, a good communicator and will always have the best interests of Richardson at heart.Source: The Wheel.
After the jump, how is that working out?
That doesn't sound like my advice. Yet, that is the agenda item for the February 13 city council meeting. Which just goes to show -- what do I know about running a city?CONSIDER AND TAKE ACTION TO APPOINT A CITY MANAGER EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2012 AND AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO NEGOTIATE THE TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL.Source: City of Richardson.
So let's see. The city staff has put an item on the city council agenda that compels them to give the authority to negotiate the employment contract for THE most important job in town to one guy, Bobby Townsend? What's up their sleeve now?
ReplyDeleteDo the citizens get a say in this selection process? What are the qualifications of the applicants? When do the people get a chance to meet these candidates and provide their input?
Or, is this going to turn out to be one of those autocratic decisions the people (and the other council members) will just have to choke down for the next who-knows how long?
Mayor Bob Townsend, in public meeting Monday night: "We discussed a search firm. We decided that we could not find anybody that's more qualified to run the city of Richardson at this time than Dan Johnson." With that, the Richardson City Council approved the appointment by unanimous vote.
ReplyDeleteShocking! :0)
ReplyDelete