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Committee approves revised public utilities director job description amid hiring-process dispute
Summary
The committee approved a revised public utilities director position description and to use a GMP consultants' guarantee for recruitment (cost under $6,000). Kelly Evans urged delaying hiring pending answers to 15 questions and referenced a resignation letter; other members said the revised description and a resolution clarifying charter-language intent addressed many concerns. The motion passed by voice vote.
The Brainerd City Personnel and Finance Committee on Aug. 18 approved a revised public utilities director job description and authorized use of a guarantee from GMP consultants to support recruitment.
Chris Schubert, the city's HR director, said the revised description aligns the public utilities director role with the public works director position and clarifies future reporting relationships. Schubert told the committee the GMP recruitment guarantee would cover search costs for expense only and that the estimated cost for that search would be less than $6,000, depending on the number of candidates interviewed.
Council member Kelly Evans said he had listed 15 questions at a prior workshop and suggested postponing hiring until those questions were answered; he also referenced concerns raised in a resignation letter. Some committee members pressed that the revised position description, together with a resolution clarifying the council's intent regarding charter language, addressed the principal issues raised (notably worries about a hire reporting to multiple bosses). Members debated whether tabling the item for two weeks to gather answers would add value; ultimately, the committee voted to approve the revised job description and to proceed with recruitment work supported by the GMP guarantee.
Why this matters: the action sets the structure and recruiting approach for a senior utility-management position whose reporting relationships and scope had been questioned during a recent personnel transition. Committee members emphasized protecting employee rights and privacy while resolving structural questions through job-description language and a separate charter-resolution process.
Next steps: staff will continue to answer outstanding questions from council members as recruitment proceeds; the committee recorded approval by voice vote without a roll-call tally in the transcript.
