Agenda - Council - 03/27/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The smallest city was for a small Arizona town in the mountains with a population of about 10,000. Mr. Pederson stated for a high growth community the individual needs to be able to deal with ambiguity. New things will be happening and the individual needs to be flexible and smart. The individual will need to be highly ethical; there are a lot of pressures that come on folks in that kind of environment. The individual also needs to have the ability to deal with a complex environment. Growth brings about issues beyond the boundaries of the city. For example there are transit issues that go beyond town boundaries. A background in dealing with these kinds of intergovernmental issues are important. 2. Mr. Pederson replied he would not, but the company could. Mercer Group does not accept applications for more than one place that they are involved with. The individual would need to pick which position they are interested in. 3. Mr. Pederson indicated he will be the point person. Mr. Mercer is the project manager in charge of quality control. He reviews everything as they proceed. Carolyn Prince Mercer will provide backup. Everyone in the firm is potentially involved. They call upon each other for suggestions on individuals. 4. Mr. Pederson stated the background investigation is critical. Mercer Group does not just talk to references given on the resume, they also typically ask people who else they might suggest they talk to. They ask the candidate to give the name of one or two people who may not have anything good to say about them. The critical part is to go well beyond. A conclusion can be drawn based on superficial data if the interview is the only basis. The background check is used on the one hand, and on the other hand Mercer Group uses upfront sourcing where they pursue people they know of and know what their track record is. 5a. Mr. Pederson stated Mercer Group would advertise in the appropriate national sources. Principal among those is the ICMA (International City Manager Association) website, which is quite universally read by people in the field. Mercer Group would also utilize any state sources, such as the Minnesota League of Cities website /newsletter. They also use the growing source of publications and websites that focus on minority and female candidates; these sources are more and more fruitful for finding candidates with the demographic changes occurring in the society. 5b. Mr. Pederson stated Mercer Group would be here whenever they need to be. It is two hours by plane, which is not very far. The crucial thing they need is to be able to have quality time with the Council right at the front end to get a clear picture of what the Council wants in an administrator. Follow up question: What do you envision as needing to get from the Council to get this picture? Mr. Pederson stated Mercer Group would need to know what kinds of issues the City is dealing with that the Council feels the manager has to have had experience with. To what degree do you want the administrator to be involved in the community? What may other people in the community that the Council would like Mercer Group to talk to have to say about this? This must be handled adeptly because the administrator will work for the Council, not someone within the community. When Mercer Group gets feedback from the community they will need to talk to the Council about it to keep on track. The most critical part is to be sure they have all the communication that is needed at the front end. They will come back to the Council with the profile they think they heard for input from the Council before they go public. City Council Work Session / February 6, 2007 Page 9 of 14