Residents criticize council for abrupt RFP motion on town manager search; officials say motion only sought cost estimates

Several residents used the second public-comment segment of the June 23 Sparta Township Council meeting to condemn what they described as an abrupt motion at a prior meeting to solicit an executive-search RFP for the town manager role.

Emily Sarafino, a resident, said she was —profoundly disappointed in the decision to go out for a search for a new town manager— and praised Town Manager Zapp—s years of service. Joanne Scally called the earlier discussion —humiliating and shocking— and said the motion should have been handled in executive session, not as a surprise agenda item when the manager sat at the dais.

Council supporters of the RFP motion and the members who introduced it responded in the meeting. Councilman Clark said the motion was —simply to do to go to RFP for an executive search. That's it.— He said the purpose at that time was to gather cost proposals and not to remove or replace the manager immediately, and he denied that council members had met with prospective replacements.

Mayor Blumetti and other council members asked speakers to avoid making unproven ethics allegations in public and reiterated that the RFP step was to assess vendor costs; they pledged to provide further information. Council members also thanked Town Manager Zapp and said his professional behavior at the earlier meeting had been appropriate.

What happens next: Councilmembers said they will collect RFP cost estimates before deciding whether to proceed; several public speakers demanded improved transparency and asked for answers about who will be involved and the expected cost of any executive search.

Provenance: public-comment segments beginning around SEG 4480 contain the critical remarks and council clarifications recorded on the public record.