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Council advances wages for Economic and Community Development Manager amid complaints about service director hiring and posting
Summary
Council considered Ordinance O-27-25 (second reading) setting wages and terms for an Economic and Community Development Manager while residents and the mayor disputed whether the service director role was properly advertised and whether candidates were interviewed.
Ordinance O-27-25, a second-reading ordinance establishing wages and terms for an Economic and Community Development Manager, was on the Cortland City Council agenda. Councilmembers conducted a roll-call vote during the second reading and discussed the separate issue of the service director position and related hiring process.
Mayor Petrovsky reminded the council that the Economic and Community Development Manager position is intended to coordinate downtown business support, events and grant-seeking for state and federal programs. "...this was for economic and community development manager, which was what we're doing now downtown with regards to working with the businesses, putting on events, seeking out grants and loans from both the state and the federal government," the mayor said.
During public comment, residents and councilmembers questioned whether the separate service director vacancy had been broadly advertised and whether suitable candidates were considered. Resident Joseph Dorna said the job posting is on the city website and on social media. "Is that position actually posted?" Dorna asked; Mayor Petrovsky replied that the posting was "on the website" and that it had also appeared on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Dorna praised city staff and urged patience while the position is filled: "...you have a fantastic team around you. ... Try to fill that gap until you get that fixed or that position filled."
Other residents and council representatives said they believed more candidates could have been interviewed and noted a public records request had produced resumes. The mayor and other councilmembers discussed application platforms; the mayor said the posting had appeared on Indeed and on the city's social media.
The council did not adopt a new hiring practice on the floor that night; the ordinance remained on its second-reading track and the hiring process questions were raised during public comment and council discussion.
