Margaret Norris from MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Services), an agency that provides technical advice for cities in Tennessee, came to a meeting of the Cleveland City Council Monday afternoon to give some guidelines about the search for a new city manager. Janice Casteel has announced she will be leaving the position after 42 years of working for the city.
She told the council that it is not required but would be beneficial to hire a candidate who is from Tennessee because the applicant would already have some knowledge of the state requirements.
The city of Cleveland, however, is large enough to have departments and individuals that specialize in such matters, and so the search will likely be extended beyond the state. Using a headhunter in addition to MTAS for the search would provide a national data base from which to draw.
The process should take from four to six months, Ms. Norris told the council, and every step takes time, she said. The first step will be to determine what qualifications that the council wants in the prospective city manager. The position will then be advertised, and once applications are received, they will be reviewed. The amount of time for rating them will depend upon the number of applications that the city gets. Then interviews will be scheduled and, after a candidate is chosen, the applicant must be given time to turn in notice to their current employer.
The two suggestions Ms. Norris had for requirements were education and experience, which are also the qualifications that are in the city charter, said Councilman Richard Banks. The council will determine what else is needed or wanted for the position and send the information to Ms. Norris by Jan. 25 so she will be able to make recommendations and give advice.
Councilman Banks said with 32 new employees this year, it is a time of turmoil and change in Cleveland. The city manager will be the ultimate boss. “This is the most important thing we will do this year,” he added.
Discussion took place about property the city plans to purchase to use as parking for the greenway which the city has a large investment in. It is prime property that the current owners bought for $25,000. Vice Mayor George Poe said after that purchase, the land was graded to raise it above the flood elevation and it is now a buildable lot. The city already had procured an easement on which a bridge was built to connect to the greenway. A second parcel remains in the flood plain. The city has given the county an opportunity to participate in the purchase, but it appears the county is not interested, said Vice Mayor Poe.
A grand opening of the new arena for Cleveland High School is scheduled for April 5. It is now known as an arena, not a gym, because it was designed to be a multi-purpose space. It will also help relieve six classrooms by providing space to expand.
Lou Patten, chairman of the Airport Authority, spoke to the commission to suggest dissolving the group that was formed in 2004 because the initial purpose of building and running the airport has been met. Operations would then be turned over to the private sector. This drew opposition from the council members, citing the fact that the city receives income from fuel sales which would not be the case if a large fixed base operator (FBO) took over.
It is also legally unclear if the council has the authority to disband the organization, said City Attorney John Kimball. A vote was unanimous to request legal clarification from the attorney general and legislative delegation on the matter.
Lynn Devault was approved to serve out the term of commission member LeRoy Rymer. Ms. Devault said the airport was built primarily with grant money and the obligations of those grants are ongoing. To dissolve the authority because agreement cannot be made on management issues is nonsense, she said. She urged the council to reconsider appointments and the manager’s term when they come up because there may be more qualified individuals available at that time.
The council also heard a class comp study from Steve Thompson, who has analyzed the city’s pay grades. He said there are now 15 pay grades, and each has 15 steps of three and a half percent. He said it would take an employee seven and a half years to achieve the market rate from step one, which he said is too long. The city is competing with the private sector, it was stated. He said the pay rates are about 96 percent of the market, a little low to be competitive, although the benefits package is slightly above average. The city manager’s average salary based on the population of Cleveland is $136,000.
Mr. Thompson suggested three alternatives for determining pay plans for city employees. The fist would be to keep the three and a half percent plan, but drop the first low step. The second, and the plan he urged the council to think about, would be to use pay ranges, which is the current trend. This is based on what is affordable each year, with the knowledge that the city must invest in its employees. The third plan would be to use a two and a half percent plan which would require the elimination of some of the steps.
Land on Kile Lane SW was approved for rezoning from R3 Multi-family Residential to IL Light Industrial Zone. Recommendation had come from the planning commission. The owner said he has aggressive plans for the property.
Cleveland Schools Director Dr. Martin Ringstaff thanked Police Chief Mark Gibson for providing the high school with a second resource officer. He also offered additional public parking on school property for people using the greenway.
A resolution was approved for the mayor to sign an agreement with Habitat for Humanity for continued development of Victory Cove Subdivision.
Mayor Tom Rowland was also authorized to sign the TML Property Conservation matching grant application for $5,000 to buy security cameras for use in city parks. He was also given approval to sign an agreement for a traffic impact study for the new elementary school on Georgetown Road.
An environmental site assessment for the veteran’s home was approved, as was the application for the 2015 grant to assist firefighters for purchasing Aerial/Quint Apparatus. This is an 80/20 grant for $900,000.
Another resolution authorized the application for an Assistance to Firefighters grant to purchase Source Capture Exhaust Systems for the fire stations.
Watchguard Cop Vu Body Cams were declared as surplus and will be donated to the Polk County Sherriff’s Department.
Two street lights will be replaced with new LED light fixtures at 905, 17th St. NW. The city will reimburse Cleveland Utilities $162.83 per fixture.
The mayor was authorized to sign a proposal on behalf of the Cleveland Animal Shelter as a beneficiary for settlement of a promissory note.
Larry Wallace, who consulted with the city about personnel issues since last March, told the council that he had received complete cooperation from everybody in Bradley County, and he said “I believe you are on the right track.” The council members each praised the work that Mr. Wallace did and requested additional help, if needed in the future.