The Greensboro City Council met in a virtual closed session on Monday, Oct. 25 from 9 a.m. to about 5 p.m.
The meeting was closed officially to “to discuss and consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness, conditions of appointment, and conditions of initial employment of a prospective public officer or employee.”
What that means in layman’s terms is to consider applicants for the job of city manager. The City Council only hires two city employees – the city manager and the city attorney.
Former City Manager David Parrish announced in May he was resigning effective June 30, the end of the city’s fiscal year. Assistant City Manager Chris Wilson was named interim city manager and, unlike what usually happens in Greensboro’s city government, Wilson is not in line to become city manager.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan said, “We certainly want to hire a new city manager as soon as possible and Chris Wilson wants us to hire one as soon as possible, also.”
Vaughan said that Wilson was ready to get back to his job as assistant city manager.
Vaughan said that the council spent Monday doing Zoom interviews of applicants for the job of city manager and that they had narrowed the number of applicants down to eight.
The City Council has scheduled another virtual meeting, which will be in closed session, for Tuesday, Nov. 2 beginning at 2 p.m. Vaughan said that was to finish up the eight Zoom interviews.
Vaughan said that she hoped the next round of interviews would be in person.
When asked about the deadline for hiring a city manager, Vaughan said, “We don’t have an artificial deadline. But we hope to have a decision by the end of the year.”
However, she said that with the holidays coming up that might be difficult.
In some cases the finalists for a job like city manager are introduced to the public before the decision is made. Vaughan said she didn’t know if that would be possible in this case because it depended on who the finalists were and if their current employers knew they were applying the job.
Eight applicants that will “go along”. We’ll see who is “along-the-mostest.
Vaughn, “ if their current employers knew they were applying for other jobs”.
City managers are ALWAYS applying for other jobs.
Zoom interviews? At least give these people the courtesy & respect of a face to face interview. Heck, we’ve lost all faith in you already and fully expect you to choose Brian Watkins or another fine individual just as worthy of being tossed into a landfill.
Shouldn’t the next council decide the manager? Current council members have voted to extended their own term.
What idiot, even a minority, would apply for this job when they learn that this disgraced City Council is going to be replaced in a few month and they WILL be fired and replaced with someone who is better equipped to handle this position.