HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-01-15 Council Packet - Work SessionKenai City Council
Work Se~ion
January 15, 2001
City Manager Search
CITY OF KENAi
210 FIDALGO AVE., SUITE 200 KENAI, ALASKA 99611-7794
TELEPHONE 907-283-7535
FAX 907-283-3014 ~
1992
M emoranclum
Date:
To.'
From:
December 13, 2000
Mayor and Council
Richard A. Ross, City Manager
City Manager Search
The Council is requested to set a work session in the first two weeks of January 2001 for
purposes of discussing the process to be used in selection of a new City Manager. For
scheduling purposes, be aware I will be out of state from January 16 - 29.
To assist you in formulating an approach to this issue, we have attached materials used in your
last candidate search.
Attachment A - This is the schedule for the City Manager search, modified for future
dates.
Attachment B - This is a revised copy of the advertisement last used for the position and
the publications it was mn in.
Attachment C - This is the two-page fact sheet and history provided to those whose
resumes met the minimum qualifications.
Attachment D - This is the follow-up letter requesting supplemental informatiOn from
those candidates that met minimum qualifications.
Attachment E - This is the resume-screening tool Council used in the last applicant
search.
Council can determine whether to follow the processes used in 1996, modify them, or use
entirely new processes. Absent direction fi'om Council, these materials will be resubmitted to
you at the work session.
Attachments
ATTACHMENT "A"
Schedule for City Manager Selection
January 15
Begin sending out advertising for publications.
March 15
All resumes are due.
March 30
Follow-up to resumes due.
April 20
Semi-finalist candidates are selected by Council.
May
Council evaluation and background investigation complete.
Finalist selected.
May/June
Candidate(s) visit community and Council.
June
Selection of successful applicant and offer of position.
Discussion of Schedule
As resumes are received, those that are deemed qualified are sent a follow-up packet.
This will contain the two-page history and fact sheet; selected essay questions, if any, by
Council; and a request for supplemental background information (see draft letter).
Council on a weekly basis reviews those applications that were deemed as not meeting
the minimum qualifications. Any Councilperson can have an application added back into
the group that meets the minimum qualifications.
As the follow-up information and essays are received, they are put into binders with the
resumes for Council review and evaluation. This is accomplished on a weekly basis.
Using this approach, Council should be able to select semi-finalists by April 30.
Background investigation waivers are sent to these individuals. The City Council then
applies the system of background investigation, reference checks, and final evaluation
they have chosen.
Council selects those candidates they wish to interview in Kenai. Candidates tour the
area. Final decision is made and job offer made.
ATTACHMENT "B"
CITY OF KENAI
Position Vacancy
CITY MANAGER
City Manager- City of Kenai, Alaska. The City of Kenai, Alaska, a home role city
(population approximately 7,000), is seeking a City Manager. The City has
approximately 120 employees, . an operating budget of $12.2 million, and an extensive
capital project program. The deadline for receipt of applications is March 15, 2001.
Send a detailed resume and cover letter to Kim Howard, Assistant to City Manager, City
of Kenai, 210 Fidalgo Avenue, Suite 200, Kenai, Alaska 99611-7794. Resume will
become public information. The starting salary will be dependent upon qualifications.
For more information about this Position, call (907) 283-8223. For more information
about the City of Kenai, visit our home page at http://www.ci.kenai.ak.us.
CITY OF KENAi
210 FIDALGO AVE., SUITE 200 KENAI, ALASKA 99611-7794
TELEPHONE 907-283-7535
FAX 907-283-3014 ~
Date:
To:
From:
December 13, 2000
Richard A. Ross, City Manager .~,L.
Kim Howard, Assistant to City Manager
City Manager Search
The following is a list of advertising similar to what was recommended to Council for the 1996
City Manager Search. I've included publishing deadlines and new estimated prices based on the
previous ad.
Peninsula Clarion
· Sunday- Friday publication
Cost- At 6 day rate = $243.84
- At 12 day rate = $396.24
Space reservation is two days lead
Anchorage Daily News
Daily publication
· Cost- 7 days = $839; 14 days = $1,552; 21 days = $2,328
· Space reservation is one day lead
International City Management Association
Biweekly newsletter
Cost is $.24 per character
· Space reservation is 11 days before issue date; deadline date for January 29th issue is
Janu~ 18th
Alaska Municipal League
Website, newsletter (every other Friday) and monthly Legislative bulletin January- May
No cost. They also offer for $150 an ad to be faxed to all Alaska municipalities
Space reservation for the newsletter is Wednesday before Friday publication
CITY OF KENAi
210 FIDALGO AVE., SUITE 200 KENAI, ALASKA 99611-7794
TELEPHONE 907-283-7535
FAX 907-283-3014 ~
ATTACHMENT "C"
199~
The City of Kenai is searching for a City Manager. The deadline for receipt of
applications is March 15, 2001. Application should be made by submitting a detailed
resume and cover letter to Kim Howard, Assistant to the City Manager, at the above
address. Resumes will become public information. Faxed resumes will not be accepted.
Introduction to the City of Kenai
The City of Kenai, population approximately 7,000, is the largest city in the Kenai
Peninsula Borough, which lies southwest of Anchorage. Kenai is 70 air miles and 150
road miles from Anchorage. The Kenai Peninsula Borough is considered a prime
recreational area for South Central Alaska, providing fishing, hunting, and winter sports
oppommities. The City is approximately forty-five square miles in size, and is situated at
the mouth of the Kenai River on the east side of Cook Inlet.
The City of Kenai is the primary commercial and shopping center for the Kenai
Peninsula. It is linked to Anchorage by road and by commercial air service. Kenai's
economy is based primarily on fishing and fish processing, oil and gas, and, increasingly,
tourism.
The City adopted a home role charter in 1963 and has operated under a City Manager
form of government since that date. Since 1980, the City has had three City Managers,
appointed by a City Council consisting of a Mayor and six Councilmembers.
In 1992 the City of Kenai was the recipient of the All America City award.
Management of the City of Kenai
The City Manager is the chief administrative officer of the City and reports directly to the
City Council, as do the other Council appointed officers, the City Attorney and the City
Clerk. The City Manager is responsible for directing the policy of Council.
The City employs approximately 120 employees, including nine department heads that
report to the City Manager. The~City provides a wide range of municipal services,
including police and fire, water and sewage treatment, street maintenance, municipal
Page 1 of 2
airport, senior citizen services, library, and parks and recreation. The Kenai Peninsula
Borough provides solid waste disposal, tax collection, assessing, and public education.
Finances of the City
The City of Kenai enjoys a reputation of being a well-managed and well-financed city.
The property tax base is assessed at approximately $356 million; the City's property tax
rate is 3.5 mills, one of the lowest in the state of Alaska. The City levies a' 3% general
sales tax.
The general fund budget of $8,039,000 is financed primarily by property taxes (16%),
sales tax (45%), state revenue (6%), and interest revenue (9%). The General Fund is
projected to have a small surplus from FY2001 operations. The total of all annual
operating fund budgets is approximately $12.2 million. Capital project expenditures for
the year ended June 30, 2000, totaled $3.1 million. The fund balance of the general fund
is approximately $9 million, and the fund balances/retained earnings of all funds total
approximately $34.2 million.
Qualifications of the City Manager
The next City Manager should be experienced with the rewards and difficulties of
managing a full-service city. The ideal candidate will have at least seven years of
responsible management experience in a small or medium sized community, with
extensive personnel, budgetary, leadership, and communication skills.
A minimum of a bachelor's degree in business, public administration, or a related field is
required. The starting salary will be dependent upon qualifications. Employment
benefits include optional enrollment in the State of Alaska Public Employee's Retirement
System, paid health and life insurance, City-paid 401 contribution plan, and an optional
employee-paid 457 deferred compensation plan. The manager position is not eligible for
social security coverage if the candidate participates in the Alaska Public Employees
Retirement System.
Page 2 of 2
ATTACHMENT "D"
December 12, 1996
,This letter is to acknowledge receipt of the resume you submitted for the position of City
Manager. Find enclosed a fact sheet on the City of Kenai and the role of the City
Manager. Should you be selected as a finalist, you may want to request more detailed
information for your review and consideration.
It is requested that you provide the following additional information, by January 30,
1997, as a supplement to your resume.
1. Submit a discussion of any incidents or issues of public controversy that a
background investigation could reveal. Enclosed is a waiver for your signature
authorizing background investigation and reference checks.
0
Submit copies of newspaper articles or editorials from recent years in which your
performance or conduct are referenced.
3. Discuss your areas of strengths and wealmess as a manager. Copies of performance
evaluations may be submitted as pan of this discussion.
4. Discuss your philosophy of the roles of a City Manager and a Council in the Council-
Manager form of government. Include a discussion of what you believe are the
Manager's responsibilities to Council, as well as the Council's responsibilities to the
Manager.
Note: All information submitted in response to the above requests is considered public
information and subject to disclosure.
Sincerely,
Kim Howard
Administrative Assistant
To..
From:
Date:
RE:
ATTACHMENT "E"
CITY OF KENAI
"oa 4
210 FIDALGO AVE., SUITE 200 KENAI, ALASKA 99611-7794
TELEPHONE 907-283-7535
FAX 907-283-3014 ~
Mayor and City Council
Richard A. Ross, City Manager
December 9, 1996
City Manager Search - Resume Screening
Attached is a draft resume scoring plan for your consideration.
These are only ideas meant to assist you in the development of
your own thoughts. Modify them to fit what you consider
important.
When finalized, the goal will be for this device to screen in
those applicants whose resumes would be predictive of a
probability of success. It does not take the place of good
background investigation and interview.
Discussion of Scorinq Plan
Sections I, II. The goal of the applicant should be to get the
job, and thus they will put their best effort forward. -The
presumption is that the resume is the best work you will receive.
If your impression is negative, the applicant should be rejected.
Sections III, IV, V. These sections are the applicant presenting
their philosophy and who they are. It is not a question of right
or wrong answers. Simply, if you have basic disagreements on
these issues, you do not want to hire this person. If your
impressions are negative in any of these categories, reject the
applicant.
Section VI. This section evaluates probability of success based
on past experience. Since ultimately the job is the test, you
have to evaluate past experience as a predictor of future
success.
A manager without municipal experience could be competitive in
this section, but only if they' had experience with community
groups/organizations, and Alaska legislative and
intergovernmental agency exgosure. Section V (E, F, G) were put
in as a result of input received. You may want to consider the
Mayor and City Council
October 29, 1996
Page 2
weight they are given. You may also want to consider whether (E
especially) should be taken out altogether and used as a tie
breaker after you have screened for the ~ype of manager you are
lookin~ for.
Section VI, A-D are rated the heaviest, in that lack of
experience should receive a negative rating. These sections
represent an assessment of ability to perform the daily nuts and
bolts of the job.
Section VI represents 66% of all possible points available.
Depending on the number of candidates left after this phase, you
can decide on the background investigation processes you want to
employ. Once finalists are selected, more in depth processes
should be used.
I have received some Council inpuz on ~he managemenz style you
want in your next; manager. This includes management of city'
opera~ions, relationships with citizen and citizen ~roups, and
interaction with Council. These traits are best determined by
using both back~round investigation and interview.
Mayor and City Council
October 29, 1996
Page 3
EVALUATION OF RESUMES
I ·
S ·
C ·
D ·
Re S~ume.:-;. P r e s en.ta=i on.: :;
. .
. .
Neatness
Organization
Spelling
Grammar
If
overall score is negative,
then application should be
..
Score
rejected.
W~.itten:'. Communication ..... Skills :'
A·
Were discussions well
organized and easy to
follow?
B. Was presentation brief and
to the point?
If overall score is negative, then application should be
Score
+.1-.
rejected.
III. Perceptions-of.:
A. Evaluation of neWspaper
articles.
·
B. Discussion of issues of
controversy.
If overall score is negative, then application should be
rejected
Score
, ,
·
Mayor and City Council
October 29, 1996
Page 4
ae
ii i
CO~lte~t.i..i::.. i-.~.-i ?.~ ~ !.' '.i~i'~i~.i! i~ili~i~!':.i~ill i~.<~i
' · ' :i:"" ' ....' .'... '" ".i'::: ':i: 'i :': . ii:!'i:i::'::..:
Agreement with views on
Council/Mayor form of
government.
Agreement wi th
responsibilities of Manager
to Council.
of Council
Agreement wi th
responsibil it les
to Manager.
If overall
score is negative, then application
should be
Score
rejected.
¸V'o
ae
If
...... .....-.:.:.:.:.:.-.:: :.::.:.. :: ......... :.:.......:,-..: .... ...: . .... . ..... . ..... .... ... . . · :::.., .::'.
Does this applicant appear
candid?
Do this applicant' s
strengths appear to
needs?
fit our
Are the applicant' s
weaknesses "1 ivable ?"
overall score is negative, then application should be
rejected.
Score
Mayor and City Council
October 29, 1996
Page 5
ae
B ·
C ,
D ·
E ·
F ,
Go
H.
Progressive responsible
management experience.
Broad managerial,
administrative and
supervisory
responsibil it les.
Background in dealing with
commissions and community
organization groups.
Background in preparing
administering budgets.
and
Experiences in commercial
and industrial development
activities.
Int e rgove rnment a 1
experiences in Alask~a.
Experience in dealing wit___~h
A1 a sk______~a legislature
processes.
Tenure - Stability as
related to "A" above.
If overall
score is negative,
then application should be
Score
rejected.
TOTAL OVERALL SCORE
RAR/kh
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