- December 24, 2024
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Aside from asking for five years of experience, Palm Coast will list few firm requirements when it posts job ads for the position of Palm Coast city manager starting this Friday, Sept. 17.
The city's former manager, Matt Morton, stepped down in May, and the position of interim city manager is held by Denise Bevan, the city's chief of staff of infrastructure and previously its city administration coordinator and senior environmental planner.
City staff had proposed that the city require five years of government experience plus a bachelor's in public administration or a related field, but council members were concerned that those requirements might discourage would-be applicants who'd otherwise be good candidates.
"A person is a total package," Councilman Ed Danko said "... I’d like to see them fill in their educational background, but I don’t think we can judge them by a degree."
He thought experience would be more relevant, and didn't think it needed to be in government.
Councilman Nick Klufas, a software engineer, said some of the most brilliant people he's ever known never graduated high school, but that but government administration isn't engineering: He supported an education requirement.
Councilman Eddie Branquinho was concerned that eliminating the educational requirement would invite an influx of applicants and swamp the city's process, which is being managed by city staff rather than an outside search firm.
Danko agreed that the city needed a way to narrow down the number of applicants.
Councilman Victor Barbosa suggested keeping Bevan as city manager, but Alfin noted that the council had already decided previously that it would hold a search.
He suggested that city staff design the job ad to focus on experience rather than education.
The proposed salary will be $140,000, depending on qualifications.
The position will be advertised for four weeks, and staff will present the council with a shortlist that the council will narrow to five finalists.
Council members will receive all of the candidates' applications, not just the finalists,' and could make their case during a council meeting for a candidate that city staff had screened out.
Although the council will interview the finalists during a public meeting, several council members also want to be able to interview the candidates one-on-one, without a public audience.
That's not a violation of the state's Sunshine Law, City Attorney Bill Reischmann said. But he warned council members that the last time the city used that process, it had faced accusations that council members were asking the most important questions behind closed doors.
Mayor David Alfin opposed the closed-door interviews for that reason, but other council members said they found it valuable to be able to interview the candidates in that more informal context, and believed candidates benefitted from meeting one-on-one with their potential future council members.
