Letter to the Editor – No reason to postpone town manager recruitment
Dear Editor,
The recruitment process has begun, and I believe the Yountville Town Council selected an excellent executive search firm to find applicants for our new town manager position. The firm has not only placed other town managers in that job, but the lead recruiter has been a town manager herself. I believe this firm understands the current dynamics in town and knows what’s at stake in our hiring process.
Listening sessions have taken place between the recruitment facilitator with both residents and business owners. My understanding is that the firm has also received many emails from constituents with individual recommendations. We were told in the resident session that there was a lot of overlap between what residents and business owners are seeking in a town manager. The facilitator also made the point that town managers often have to work with changing town council members over the course of time. A job candidate would need to be aware of possible changing dynamics, and anyone with previous experience in that job could talk about that issue in his/her interviews.
There will be two openings for town council members and one for mayor on the November ballot. All three current members are running for reelection. For those suggesting we wait until a “new” council is seated, it is possible we could have the same leaders elected for next term.
Right now, we have an interim town manager whose contract ends in late September. I would not suggest a hasty choice solely timed to his departure. But if there were no qualified applicants presented – or we delayed the process – we would be in a position of having to renegotiate another interim contract.
The application deadline for town manager candidates technically just ended. In my opinion, the only reason to delay a decision is if none of the applicants appear to be qualified for the job. If we pass on the candidates we have now, we have no way of knowing who will apply after the first of the year.
I think we should let the process proceed and hopefully will get a great candidate as soon as possible.
Myrna David
Yountville
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