Clinton City committee orders work group to refine city administrator recruitment, moves interim appointment to next agenda

The Committee of the Whole for Clinton City voted to place consideration of an interim city administrator on the next business meeting agenda and directed a three-council-member work group to refine the city administrator job bulletin and recruitment plan.

The chair summarized the recent recruitment effort, saying the city previously received 38 applicants but made no selection and must decide whether to hire a search firm or repost the position. "We got 38 applicants," the chair said, and asked the council for direction on whether to hire a search firm or repost on the city’s own channels.

Council members debated reposting windows. One member proposed a 60-day posting with the option to review at 30 days; another and an outside participant recommended a 45-day posting as a compromise. "Hit that sweet spot or try to get something around 45 days, and then we can evaluate," an attendee with hiring experience said, recommending the council evaluate the pool and extend if necessary.

A council member urged refining the job bulletin before reposting, to better distinguish desired versus required qualifications. "I think we need to kinda nail that down first and then put out the job bulletin like we did before," the council member said, recommending the work group refine the qualifications language before the posting goes live.

The council also discussed costs. Members noted one online posting previously cost about $600 and that hiring an outside search firm could run about $25,000. The finance director said he would check available HR budget and vendor pricing.

On the question of short-term leadership, the committee opened discussion about naming an interim city administrator while the search continues. Brian Lemke (Public Works) addressed the council, saying he would consider serving as interim and described the role as "basically holding all the parts together, getting feedback from the other department heads, being transparent" and helping restore communication between departments.

Eric (IT director) and Nick Manrique (finance director) also spoke about their capacities and whether they would be appropriate interim choices; Nick said he would defer to more experienced department heads for interim leadership. Members discussed potential conflicts with department duties if a department head also served as interim and weighed whether an interim should be eligible for the permanent position.

The committee agreed the established recruitment work group should reconvene to refine the job description and screen candidates. The group scheduled a work-group meeting for Thursday at 2:00 p.m. The chair moved to place an interim administrator appointment on the next business meeting agenda; the motion was seconded and approved by roll-call vote. The clerk called each name; the record shows all members present voted yes to place the item on the business agenda.

The meeting closed with brief community updates — including a Friday night bird cook-off and Saturday’s "Lions Roar" event — and the chair adjourned the committee.

What’s next: the work group will meet this week to refine the job bulletin and screening approach; the council will consider a motion to appoint an interim administrator at the next business meeting.