Franklin city manager search down to top four candidates

FRANKLIN — The hiring committee narrowed their search for city manager to four candidates, who were interviewed by the city council Wednesday night.

The committee was slated to meet to select their top two candidates Friday afternoon.

Councilors interviewed the candidates at Franklin Public Library on Wednesday. A few minutes after they finished, around 9 p.m., councilors exited their non-public interview session to meet in public to schedule the follow-up meeting, also at the library.

Municipal Resources Inc., the organization charged with narrowing down applicants for the position, initially received 33 applications. They narrowed it down to 10 for phone interviews, then the final four who moved on to meet with councilors.

The job listing for the position, posted by MRI, requires relevant job experience, and requires a bachelor’s degree in a related field, with a master's degree and six years of relevant responsible management experience preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Ideal qualities are listed as seasoned, innovative, and being an open communicator of information. The salary range is up to $160,000.

The city has approximately 95 full-time employees and 28 part-time employees, and the city manager oversees an operating and capital budget of approximately $21 million. Finding someone who can properly manage all of this is important to Councilor Delaney Carrier (Ward 1).

“I think the primary qualification would be somebody that's had experience in that range of management,” he said on Tuesday.

At the meeting Wednesday, the council voted to pick someone to lead the interview process. This normally falls to the mayor, but because Mayor Desiree McLaughlin is an applicant for the position, she must recuse herself from the hiring process.

It was not immediately clear whether McLaughlin is a final candidate.

The majority voted for Councilor Timothy Johnston (Ward 1) as leader. His role was to welcome each candidate, keep the interview on track and make sure each councilor had an opportunity to ask questions and get them answered.

Johnston said he was satisfied with the candidates as a whole, and spoke to what councilors are looking for in a city manager.

“We're looking for somebody that is going to help us continue with economic development and see the benefits of Franklin. Pretty much can take charge and direct the city,” he said.

A candidate can only be selected by a two-thirds vote, according to city charter.

If councilors don't like any of the four candidates, they have the option to look at the other six finalists.

When former City Manager Judie Milner applied for the position she was hired for in 2017, Acting City Manager Scott Clarenbach said she was not in the first round of candidates. She only applied in a second round of candidates, after councilors were not satisfied with their options. Milner started working for the city in 2009, and was finance director at the time of her hiring as city manager.

When the council selects their new city manager, they will work with MRI to create a conditional offer of employment, a contract, and intensive background checks. This is all done in public, and the selected candidate will be named at that time.

The new city manager is not likely to start until the end of September at the earliest, Clarenbach said. This poses a problem, as Clarenbach started on March 3, and his contract ends on Aug. 30. An interim city manager can only serve for 180 days, according to the charter.

Clarenbach said one option would be to appoint him as manager, and he would then resign when they select the new hire. But he's not keen on the idea.

“I've got commitments in September. My daughter's coming home from out-of-state for 10 days. We've got a vacation plan towards the end of September,” he said. “I put all this off knowing that I was done on the 30.”

Clarenbach spoke to the importance of picking the right person for the job.

“This is probably one of your biggest responsibilities, is to hire the CEO for the city and making sure the person's the right fit for staff, public, themselves.”