Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Manager Hiring topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lewisburg council approves $100,000 offer for city manager candidate after split vote
Summary
After debate over experience and pay, the Lewisburg mayor and council approved offering Billy Spivey the city manager job at $100,000 a year, subject to a background check; an earlier motion to hire at $110,000 failed.
The Lewisburg mayor and council voted to offer Billy Spivey the city manager position at an annual salary of $100,000, subject to a successful background check, after splitting over an earlier higher offer.
An initial motion to hire Spivey at the previously discussed level (discussed in meeting comments as $110,000) was introduced by Councilman Burns but failed on a council roll call after members raised concerns about Spivey’s lack of municipal city-manager experience and urged interviews with alternate finalists.
The motion that ultimately passed directed staff to prepare an offer letter and begin the required background check. Patrick Marsh, the council’s recruitment advisor, told the council his role was “to give you recommendations of employment” and recommended restarting the search if the body wanted a larger or different applicant pool. Marsh cautioned that candidates previously told they were not selected might not reapply and that a new search could take 30–90 days.
Council members who opposed the higher offer said they preferred interviewing alternates or tying pay more closely to municipal experience. Councilman Burns argued Spivey was the best-qualified candidate among those available, urging the council to put the motion on the floor. After discussion and a failed vote on the larger figure, a subsequent motion to extend an offer at $100,000 was seconded and approved by the council.
Council staff said they would contact Spivey to deliver the offer and process onboarding paperwork; when contacted during the meeting Spivey said he would need at least a week to respond and would consult his family before accepting. The council agreed to proceed with a background check and to have staff prepare a signed acceptance form once Spivey confirmed.
The council did not adopt additional hiring conditions during the meeting; members discussed options including re-posting the position, interviewing internal department heads, or proceeding from the existing applicant pool. The council noted there were roughly 15 applicants in the original pool.
