WASTE BUSTERS: Columbia’s city manager search
The city of Columbia spent a total of $23,124.89 on its search for a city manager.
The council decided on John Glascock Monday over one other finalist, Jim Palenick, the city administrator of Racine, Wisconsin.
The decision came at the end of an 8-month-long search process that began when former city manager Mike Matthes resigned on Nov. 20.
Glascock was appointed as interim city manager just 6 days after Matthes’ resignation.
Nearly two months later, the city council approved a contract bid from Cooperative Personnel Services HR Consulting.
For the services rendered, the city agree to pay CPS $17,000 with an additional $3,500 available to fund a recruitment video and an additional $7,000 for the reimbursement of the firm’s supplementary expenses.
City spokesman Steve Sapp told ABC 17 News the firm did not produce a recruitment video.
The firm’s fees constituted $17,000, travel expenses totaled $6029.08 and the remaining $95.81 was spent on food.
In addition to fielding candidates from across the country, CPS HR Consulting conducted a city-wide survey to gain input from the public about what qualifications should be sought in an administrator.
The firm generated this word cloud graphic from the responses to that survey:
“One of the best questions the search firm posed was that word cloud which assessed what the community feels their needs are, and also questions the candidates about what’s important to them,” said Ward 3 Council Member Karl Skala. “I can remember sitting there in the front thinking, ‘what of these values is important to me as well?'”
When asked if the resources spent to conduct the search process were worth it, Mayor Brian Treece answered in the affirmative.
“I think it was important for not only our responsibility under the charter to pick the right person, but also to test the waters to look at that third eye and that different perspective of how other communities that are similar to Columbia deal with problems when it comes to community policing, public transit, a new airport terminal, Treece said.
The city of Columbia is in negotiations with Glascock and a contract is expected to be brought before the city council at its next meeting for a vote of approval.
